Just Jaded
All About Pop Sensation Lauv’s New Album, All 4 Nothing!
Written By: Joanna Serrano
Welcome back to A Little Jaded! This month, we were lucky enough to attend a press conference with 1824 with pop singer-songwriter Lauv. This was in celebration of the release of his highly anticipated sophomore album All 4 Nothing on August 5th, 2022!
Graphic By: Mariana Medina
Raining from San Francisco, California, Ari Leff, known to the world as Lauv, has been creating music since the young age of 12. Influenced by bands like Never Shout Never and Owl City, Lauv began developing his fun, synth-pop sound. He is best known for his hit 2017 single “I Like Me Better” which dominated the charts, peaking at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as number 2 on Billboard’s US Adult Top 40. Since then he’s released his mixtape I met you when I was 18 in 2018, and his debut studio album How I’m Feeling in 2020.
Prior to the creation of this new project, Lauv described himself as being “anxious all the time,” having not being able to trust himself, and thinking he did not deserve happiness. Lyrically, the album is said to encapsulate the story of his journey getting to where he is in life now. This includes both the negatives and positives. According to Lauv, he struggled finding feelings of peace and gratitude that he had felt before finding fame. He worked to get back to a place of being content with himself, where he can say, “Im okay with myself as a person no matter what the outside world brings”.
Lauv is well known for being very candid about his struggles with mental health, both online and through his music. Tracks off his last album, such as “Drugs & The Internet” and “Modern Loneliness”, touch on struggles like depression that come with living in this new age of social media. When discussing his mental health journey, he states that he had no understanding of it for the majority of his life. He found himself at a “massive low” where simply speaking to a therapist was not enough to get by. This is when he did his own research into different types of mental health and different healing processes, and decided to speak about it. He’s stated that meditation has become a huge part in his own healing, and even hopes to involve fans in meditative practices as a way to connect with them further!
Lauv’s mental health journey played a large role in the creation of All 4 Nothing. His meditative practices influenced songs like his newest track “Kids Are Born Stars”, as he worked towards connecting with his inner child through inner child meditation.
He also discussed the shift in his creative process for this album. He describes the project as unfiltered, “very straight up”, and “all there for people to see, in a way that’s not trying to be polished for a pop record”. He took a more relaxed and fun approach when creating the album, allowing himself to freestyle in the car with friends and not overthink the music he was creating. He also worked with producers who he trusted to bring in new sounds that stray away from the Lauv songs that we are so used to. Tracks on All 4 Nothing like “Bad Trip” and “I (Don’t) Have A Problem”, for example, are sonically new and feel like an elevated version of the Lauv sound.
When asked about finding the balance between featuring his journey through light and darkness within his music, Lauv stated that his music reflects his life. He goes on describing how life can be 50/50 between happiness and sadness most of the time, and so is his music. This 50/50 theme is sprinkled all throughout All 4 Nothing. Tracks like “Molly In Mexico” have an upbeat summer vibe that is perfect for those late night drives or dance parties with friends, while “Hey Ari” is a tearjerking track that focuses on self reflection during dark times.
On past projects, Lauv worked to match colors and aesthetics in order to visually create the album. He took a different approach on All 4 Nothing, completely stripping it back and sticking with more muted and nature themes. If he were to describes the album as visually emulating any color, it would be all colors combined into one. Along with this nature theme, Lauv defined the perfect setting to listen to the new album as a “perfect combo between beach”, “forest, and pasture, and mountains all in one”.
No matter where you decide to listen to the album, you are in for a treat! This new era for Lauv will leave you wanting more. Lucky for you there is more! You can catch Lauv on his North American tour this summer with special guest Hayley Kiyoko at a city near you!
Stay up to date with Lauv by following him on all of his socials!