Like Tōth’s You and Me and Everything, This
Is Really Going to Hurt is another sophomore record, and another breakup
album. Flyte’s Will Taylor is on
an earlier stage of his breakup journey than Alex Toth, though, and as a result
there’s a lot more pain on display here. On ‘Losing You’, Taylor is very clear: “You’ve cut me through and
through.” Whereas, on ‘Easy Tiger’, he
tries (and seemingly fails) to talk himself round: “Go easy, tiger, this is
only going to get worse / Go easy, tiger, you’re a survivor.” This Is Really
Going to Hurt is unquestionably an emotionally self-indulgent record, but it
is also extremely heartfelt and, on more than one track, genuinely moving. There is also some lyrical bile here and there,
which is unsettling but tonally interesting. Musically, the primary focus is beautiful
pop folk, with delicate guitar and harmonised vocals. But there’s also a harder
60s proto-rock sound that rears up here and there (‘Under the Skin’, ‘Trying to
Break Your Heart’). Best on show is ‘I’ve
Got a Girl’, with its bobbing baseline verse and soaring chorus. Musically, the
song-writing here is pretty much flawless; lyrically there is beauty, pain, and
ugliness. Overall, This Is Really Going to Hurt is a record that’s consistently
interesting and emotionally real. Well
worth your time.