Indie-pop singer iamnotshane (real name Shane Niemi) first became known for the music video of his song ‘Insecure’ released back in 2016, where he practiced Michael Jackson’s famous anti-gravity lean. Nowadays, iamnotshane is still known for his unconventional narratives combined with flamboyant dance moves. On the 24th of January 2024, the LA-born singer released his new, self-released album Chasing the Wind Each of the 12 tracks stand for one month in the artist’s “worrisome life”.
Funnily enough, the calendar on the album art shows January – which makes sense considering January is the first month of the year and is the month in which the album dropped – yet it starts with the song that matches up with February, according to the music video and theme. ‘Maybe My Soulmate Died’ was released all the way back in June of 2022 and went viral, garnering millions of streams on Spotify. As some sort of cynical Valentine’s track, in this first song iamnotshane wonders where his soulmate is – if he perhaps “saw them on the train last night and just walked on by?” Are they, as the title implies, possibly dead? The song’s drums, deep vocals, and added synths in the second verse make for a very catchy song with quite pessimistic lyrics – something the audience will get to hear throughout this entire album.
Most of the songs on the albums were already released as singles earlier on. This goes also for ‘Plot Twist’, a track about falling out of love with someone and no longer recognizing yourself during this happening. It seems to be about looking in the mirror and being scared to find someone that is no longer you – “you’re freaking me out”, he sings. Interesting to point out is that the track makes lots of reference to substance abuse in its chorus. Consider lyrics such as “like a bad trip”, “took a bad hit”, and “bloodshot eyes”. In the background of the track, we hear a bass beat and clapping that pauses right before the chorus and then continues on. Whereas the previous track fell in line with Valentine’s Day, this one can be tied to Halloween as the track of October.
Moving back to July for the third track, ‘What Do You Do for a Living? I Do My Best’, and the only collaboration on the album. It is a break up song in which iamnotshane answers the questions EMME poses in the chorus. The pair have been touring together for years, and have finally turned this shared experience into a song. The high-pitched vocals of EMME work perfectly with Niemi’s deeper ones. While the couple in the track have broken up, they are still constantly thinking about one another – making it romantic in a bittersweet way, and definitely perfect for the summer.
In ‘I’ve Been Nothing but Funny and Sexy to You’, Niemi sings about another break-up, while an acoustic guitar is being strummed and synths are played from the first chorus onwards. Here, he’s singing about despite everything he has done for his partner, she still left him – presumably for someone with more money, as he sings to his ex-partner “you cashed out, you withdrew your lovin’ for somebody now who funded you out of your blues”.
The next song, ‘I Don’t Have Red Flags, I Have Fun Facts’, tells the tale of the singer seemingly trying his utmost for the person he likes, as he sings that he’ll “do his best not to do you wrong”. However, the singer has many flaws that lead to arguments and jealousy. The chorus plays one last time as the outro, while a guitar is being strummed in the background.
In ‘Out of My Mind’, Niemi sees the person he has fallen in love with fall for someone else, yet he still can’t get over them. In the chorus, he sings that “maybe if I end it, it would be alright” as there is no happiness when he can’t have them. The cynical lyrics are being sung to upbeat synths that take a short pause for the pre-chorus and then start back up in the chorus.
Moving on to ‘Let’s Ride’, the listener has finally arrived at the song of January. “We gotta ride this out” could be said both about the year in itself as well as about the relationship discussed in the track; a relationship that is not good for either of the people involved and will never work out. It is yet another synth pop banger – Niemi knows where his talents lie.
While the lyrics on the album so far have all been quite dark and/or sad, ‘Jesus Wept’ is the first song of which the vibe is also more sinister. This so-called “monk bop” questions why Jesus died for the singer’s sins, as the singer has done nothing to deserve this and will not make it into heaven. During the pre-chorus, an organ starts playing, as though the story is actually taking place inside a church. The bridge is in Latin, just like hymns commonly sung in church, and just adds to the overall gothic mood.
Going back to the theme of dramatic break-ups, iamnotshane presents the listener with ‘I Would Rather Lose You Than the Argument’. From the title alone, it is clear that this relationship is not a healthy one. The singer has too much pride to ever let the other win and is therefore constantly hurting them.
In ‘Take Me Out’ – opening with the iconic line “Hello iamnotshane” – Niemi states that life is meaningless and he therefore does not care whether he is “taken out on a date or with a sniper” because both will end in disaster anyway. Niemi sings that he is tired of “chasing after your lies, a better house, the right spouse”. Arguably, it can be said that the track is about the fact that so many life goals are imposed on us that we lose our minds in the process of trying to achieve all of them. The xylophone-like synths in the background make for a unique sound that only adds to the feeling of despair.
‘Strategy of Satan’ could be coined as the evil twin of ‘Jesus Wept’. Niemi sings that Satan “masquerades as an angel of light” to spread his propaganda and turn people to his side. It is uncertain whether either this one or the previous Christian-like song need to be taken literally, but even as a metaphor this one is extremely interesting. Like ‘Jesus Wept’, it is darker than the rest of the album. Especially interesting is how in the chorus, the singer counts from one to six – 666 being the number of the beast, of course – a trend that has gone viral on TikTok over the years.
Finally, the album ends with its title track, ‘Chasing the Wind’. This one can be compared to ‘Take Me Out’ in the sense that they both talk about how pointless life is. “Meaningless desires, meaningless hours, like chasing the wind” Niemi sings – the more one learns and achieves, the sadder and more desperate one becomes in forever needing more.
Stylistically, it is interesting how the months of the year are all out of order on this album, but this only adds to the touch of absurdism fans of iamnotshane are familiar with and that listeners have been able to find throughout these songs. All upbeat synth bops with mostly pessimistic lyrics, the album makes for an interesting concept. If only it wasn’t so short – iamnotshane has treated us only to just over 30 minutes in total. However, as these tracks are very much in line with the current state of the world, it is nonetheless relatable. Surely, the amount of memes Niemi has used on Instagram to promote this album have only helped to reach its target audience.
Written by: Mandy Huibregtsen
Edited by: Molly Day
