Release Date: March 11, 2022
Genre: Pop, Pop Rock, Hip-Hop Label: Fearless Records
Before turning to music as an outlet, California-based pop/hip-hop artist Scott Sire was one of the largest names the short-form social media platform, Vine, had to offer. Over the years, he's moved his digital platform to Youtube -where he also frequently appears in videos from the popular Youtube group Vlog Squad. Sire, to date, has amassed over seven million followers on social media -independently, he has amassed over 390 million and counting views on his Youtube- and in the last few years has turned to music as an additional artistic outlet. His music career blew up with his second studio album, What's Going On, which was released in the fall of 2019, landing at #9 on the iTunes Pop Charts. He followed the album release with a massive thirty-city headline tour -which was in partnership with mega-concert promoter Live Nation. Now, skip to the present day, Sire is back with his third studio album, Mood Swings, which is co-produced by Bruce Wiegner (Set It Off, Gabbie Hanna, Katy Perry) and Point North frontman Jon Lundin. Sire is looking to further leave his mark in the music industry with Mood Swings by tackling many topics such as love, angst, social anxiety, and depression.
Mood Swings begins with the album's title track. The tune is an endlessly dancey, bass-driven, and upbeat track that is certainly a major contender to have all eyes directed towards Sire. Coincidentally, "MOOD SWINGS" is the album's lead single, and lyrically, the song tackles Sire's self-care and self-awareness around mental illness in a confessional manner, baring it all for listeners. On the following track, "JUST US TWO," Sire switches it up fast with a very poppy, R&B-blended musical number about being with the one you love the most and that you can't get enough of them. In another switch-up, Sire primarily sings "JUST US TWO" in falsetto. The third track on Mood Swings, titled "SUPER AVERAGE," continues to keep things fresh musically. "SUPER AVERAGE" kicks off with an old superhero cartoon sound clip before getting right into another infectious bass-driven track, where Sire confesses he's just an ordinary human being like the rest of us. Using a lot of wordplay of Spider-Man references, "SUPER AVERAGE" really blurs the line between pop, pop-rock, and hip-hop as Sire raps the song's eccentric verses that are a defining trait to the track.
On the full-blown, pop-rock number, "FREAKING OUT," Sire sings about freaking out about getting closer to a person and afraid to open up further to them. Additionally, "FREAKING OUT" sees the album's only feature and features the stunning talents of pop artist YaSi (pronounced ya-see) in the form of a back and forth duet that adds depth to the entire track. Without this feature, I feel this track would've been somewhat one-dimensional, and it suits the entirety of the track quite well. "OUT OF MY SKIN" takes things way down musically, and it's one of a couple of the lightest tracks on Mood Swings. In another confessional piece, Sire divulges on certain times he feels trapped in his thoughts and how it sends him down a vicious spiral. "OVERWHELMED" is another bass-heavy, dancey, upbeat track, with Sire rapping once again. However, lyrically "OVERWHELMED" tackles burnout and the need to take a long-needed break and the consequences if Sire, or anyone else, don't act on it. Continuing on tracks about mental illness, "DON'T FEEL GOOD" is another tune where Sire acknowledges how he sikes himself up when he's feeling down by telling himself, "everything's going to be okay." In addition, "DON'T FEEL GOOD" continues Sire's untraditional spin to pop and hip-hop.
"SOMETHING YOU SAID" takes a swerve with a very modern pop-punk approach -blending pop-punk and pop elements- rather than anything else on the entirety of Mood Swings. While most of this album could be massive hits, the "different" songs like "SOMETHING YOU SAID," "FREAKING OUT," or even "OUT OF MY SKIN" should be put on the world stage to showcase Sire's true talent and that he's more than one sound and style. The album-closing number, "WHO AM I," takes things down to the most superficial version of Sire once more -as most of Mood Swings is at its core. "WHO AM I" details Sire's transformation into the man he is today and baring it all on the floor. "WHO AM I" is the most candid Sire has ever been in his music, and while the song is overly emotional, powerful, and straight from the heart, Sire is just another average human being full of flaws. He's here with his music as an outlet to express to everyone that even people with a giant spotlight put on them are the same as you at the core. That's the entire meaning that's been put into the forefront of all eleven tracks on Mood Swings.
Check out more from Scotty Sire: