Almost exactly a year after releasing his EP “Days Like Lost Dogs”, Christian Akridge aka Christian Leave,

has come back to reclaim his bedroom pop crown, with a 5-track release titled “Superstar”.

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Bringing back his candid and hybrid style, mixing touches of alternative pop and rock, Christian delivers a

very personal but also intriguing narrative. Akridge brushes through various too-familiar subjects:

friendship, love, self-doubt, but in a way where we can’t be completely sure what he is referring to. His

symbolisms and elaborate ways to explain what should be simple, make “Superstar” feel experimental

while at the same time accessible, as much of Leave’s music is.

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The EP’s title track exudes an anxious energy through uneasy melodies and chord progressions, forcing

you to feel what he is feeling. Akridge sings “It’s tough to be your friend” while also admitting “I don’t

mind, it saves me time”, a much familiar feeling to –I believe– most of us. When we meet somebody

that is inexplicably bright and likeable, we tend to question our own self-worth and value. Since we are

not as wonderful as we perceive these people, we feel like we are less, but at the same time we hang

onto them because it’s easy to love them and they're inevitably nice to have around. It’s an interesting

approach from someone who works in the industry, who is constantly surrounded by and working with

stars and occasionally “superstars”. The production also includes multiple layers of voices, making it

sound heavenly and angelic, similar to the way he describes this person: “the brightest thing the rest of

us have ever seen”.

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Although “Why Not?” has been out for longer, it feels much harder to decipher. Christian returns to the

concept of a complicated grungy artist, with lyrics that say a lot while also hiding their actual meaning.

This song could be about revisiting an earlier love story, trying to fix it and giving it another try: “Hey

you, why not work on it like we used to?”. It might also be about Akridge’s relationship with his career.

Though he’s been constantly releasing songs since his Vine days in 2015, he’s been in and out of the

public eye throughout his career, maybe falling in and out of touch with his creative process. With a

slower beat and melody, this song also allows him to show more of his vocal range and skills.

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Transitioning with a loud distorted guitar, “Coming In” sounds a lot more like some of his heavier work

and some of my personal favorite songs, like “Your Life Your Time” and “10 Steps”, both released last

year. The melody is similar to the anxious one on “Superstar”, but it brings along some excitement about

the uncertainty of something that is about to happen. With an instrumental filled with chaotic electric

guitars, this song is the longest one in the EP, and it seems to be more focused on the sound than on the

lyrics.

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“Ain’t No Reason” takes a jump in a completely different direction, with jazzy melodies and subtle choir

voices in the background. It almost feels like it belongs in a rom-com movie. Christian is begging their

lover to stop playing with their heart. He is trying his best while this person only toys with their feelings,

making him feel like he’s going insane, when instead they could just let him go. While being the shortest

track in the project, “Ain’t No Reason” feels like it wasn’t actually finished.

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On “Pull”, Christian feels the person they love pushing away, but he is unable to help until the other

person lets them. It’s about accepting that you can’t make relationships work on your own, and that

even when in love, we are all our own person at the end of the day. This is Akridge’s favorite song he has

ever written, according to his announcement on Instagram. The 22-year-old sings “I see the means that

lead to an end, and I can tell that you don't wanna fight, so we don't have to”, acknowledging that their

story is coming to an end, and there is no point in trying to stop that from happening.

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While I still expect Christian to release a full-length album so we can enjoy as much of his music as we

can, this EP feels like a nice inside look into where he is in life right now. As someone whose career

began on the internet, Leave still seems to have control over what to share with the fans and the world,

allowing his lyrics even more puzzling and intriguing. While he still grows into the person and artist he

wants to be, I say we can be nothing but grateful to receive such an intimate piece of his mind through

this project and hopefully all yet to come.

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Christian will be performing at The Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles on November 30th .