My Honest Take on Outsideness’ Wildly Overloaded Second Album

…Then After? has the glorious problem of caring too much, with Freidrich$ and Azalias packing every available minute with melodies, samples, acoustic guitar, piano, electronic percussion and the occasional studio decision that nearly starts a fight with the song surrounding it. Their second Outsideness album arrives scruffy, dramatic and frequently overloaded, though the hooks possess enough strength to survive every collision. I admired plenty of it immediately, argued with several choices and kept returning to the whole thing. Outsideness chooses enthusiasm over cool detachment. This record sweats.

The opening pair, “Alright” and “Freedom,” establish that attitude through two sharply different approaches. “Alright” wins through pacing. Azalias carries the early section with restraint, while the production gradually adds weight until the title acquires a harder tone. By the end, “alright” can communicate acceptance, exhaustion or a warning delivered through clenched teeth. “Freedom” spreads both voices across a wider electronic backdrop and gives atmosphere a prominent role. I returned to “Alright” first; “Freedom” gained ground through headphones, where its quieter details had space to register.

The middle stretch containing “Even to Me,” “Container,” “Haunt” and “Got Me” provides the album’s most argumentative section. “Container” was the first song that tested my patience, mainly because the final surge crowds the mix and blurs part of the melodic detail. Repeated plays made its internal logic clearer, though the production still packs an extraordinary amount into a limited area. “Even to Me” and “Haunt” carry heavier emotional titles, bringing vulnerability and lingering memory into the sequence. Then “Got Me” arrives with a focused groove and one of the record’s clearest hooks. This is the track I would play first for anyone meeting Outsideness. Azalias owns the melodic centre, Freidrich$ keeps the surrounding details active, and the song gets to its point with satisfying confidence.

By the time “La Jetée” enters, Outsideness has earned enough trust to become genuinely difficult for a few minutes. Its clipped construction interrupts the album’s momentum, and my first response was irritation. A later listen revealed greater purpose in the spaces separating its pieces, though I still prefer the tracks surrounding it. “Dance” brings the pulse forward again, while “Water” contains one of Azalias’ most natural performances on the record. Her conversational delivery gives tiny changes in tone real importance. “Hold” closes the album on steadier ground, allowing the final minutes to settle after so much activity.

Freidrich$ clearly enjoys the studio, and …Then After? captures that excitement in every layer. Samples scrape against acoustic instruments, piano chords appear beside restless electronics, and percussion frequently changes the direction of a song. At its strongest, the production reveals a familiar hook from an unusual angle and gives it extra bite. During weaker passages, activity begins competing with impact. Freidrich$ occasionally keeps one texture too many, especially after Azalias has already delivered the emotional point. Even so, the enthusiasm remains audible, and I will always take excessive curiosity over tasteful boredom.

Azalias provides the record with personality rather than polish. Her delivery can carry dry humour, tenderness, frustration and full dramatic force within a small section, giving each track an identifiable attitude. She also understands when a melody needs directness. “Got Me” benefits enormously from that instinct, while “Water” shows how much she can communicate through smaller vocal gestures. The partnership works best whenever Freidrich$ gives her performance enough space to lead and then uses the production to sharpen its impact.

For all its studio activity, the album repeatedly returns to memorable phrases and choruses. That matters because experimentation quickly becomes homework once the songs lose their appeal. Outsideness keeps pleasure inside the process. Several tracks hit immediately, a few demand repeated plays, and one or two continue arguing their case after the music ends. Such unevenness gives the album character and makes personal favourites easy to choose.

What finally makes …Then After? worth those repeat plays is the duo’s total commitment to every decision, including the choices that land awkwardly. Freidrich$ and Azalias present emotion directly and let the production supply abrasion, surprise and occasional chaos. “Alright,” “Got Me” and “Water” emerge as the quickest standouts, while “Freedom,” “Container” and “La Jetée” reveal further details over time. Outsideness have made a second album with strong hooks, loud curiosity and enough personality to turn its excesses into part of the entertainment. It argues, sprawls, catches itself, finds another melody and carries on.