Hypochondriac (Brakence album)

Last updated
Hypochondriac
Brakence - Hypochondriac.jpg
Studio album by
Brakence
ReleasedDecember 2, 2022
Genre
Length52:12
Label Columbia, Sony
Brakence chronology
Punk2
(2020)		Hypochondriac
(2022)
Singles from Hypochondriac
  1. "Argyle"
    Released: October 8, 2021
  2. "CBD"
    Released: January 21, 2022
  3. "Venus Fly Trap"
    Released: July 8, 2022
  4. "Caffeine"
    Released: September 9, 2022
  5. "Bugging!"
    Released: November 18, 2022
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Pitchfork 7.3/10 [3]

Hypochondriac (stylized in all lowercase) is the second studio album by American musician Brakence, released on December 2, 2022, via Columbia Records and Sony Music. [2] It was preceded by the singles "Argyle", "CBD", "Venus Fly Trap", "Caffeine", and "Bugging!".

Contents

Background

Brakence began work on his second studio album shortly after the release of his 2020 debut album Punk2. [1] On September 23, 2021, after a period of silence, he posted a video titled "bloomtodeath" onto his social media accounts, leading many fans to believe this to be the title of his next album. [4] On October 8, he released "Argyle", his first single in over a year at the time. He then released a second single, "CBD", on January 21, 2022. On July 8, he released "Venus Fly Trap", the album's third single. On September 9, he released its fourth single "Caffeine". The album's title was also officially revealed to be Hypochondriac at the end of the song's music video. On November 14, 2022, Brakence revealed the cover art for Hypochondriac, and announced that it would be released on December 2. On November 18, he released its fifth and final single "Bugging!", as well as the album's track listing. [5]

Brakence embarked on the Hypochondriac Tour to support the album. The tour began on November 26, 2022, in Cleveland, Ohio and concluded on December 20 in Brooklyn, New York. It was his first headlining tour, and featured Jane Remover as the opening act. [6] Brakence would eventually embark on a second tour for the album, called the "Hypochondriac (is Still on) Tour," featuring Gabby Start as the opening act. The North American leg of the tour began on October 24, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio and concluded November 22 in San Diego, California. [7] The European leg of the tour began on January 14, 2024 in Berlin, Germany and concluded on January 19 in London, England, and featured Welsh musician Kurtains as the opening act. In an Instagram post announcing this leg of the tour, Brakence stated that "for the last three years, [he] had a massive fear of flying," and that "after three years, [he] finally decided to face it." [8]

On December 2, 2023, the one year anniversary of the album, Brakence announced a restock of all of the album's merchandise, as well as a release of the album on CD, specifically shying away from vinyl. "I also wanted to release some sort of physical for this, but I don't feel a spiritual connection to vinyl. I do, however, feel strongly about CDs. I grew up analyzing Kelly Clarkson in the back of my mom's car with a portable CD player," Brakence said in an Instagram post. [9]

Theme

The premise of the album follows the disconnect between the digital world, as well as introversion, and to the need to be social. Themes of drug use, social media usage, content with making art opposed to serving a greater societal purpose, and relationships, both serious and hookups, are all prevalent within the album. In terms of commentary, the emphasis on social media and the difficulty of maintaining integral social relationships as an artist are clear aftereffects of the quarantine regulations imposed on the United States from 2020 to 2022. Conceptually, there is a focus within the album of Brakence being a protagonist within a narrative, although the conflict of the narrative not specified.

Track listing

All tracks written and produced by Randy Findell; additional writers and producers are as indicated.

Hypochondriac track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Bugging!"  3:16
2."Caffeine"
  • Randy Findell
  • Gabriel O'Leary
  • Findell
  • O'Leary
3:17
3."Venus Fly Trap"  4:55
4."Teeth"
  • Findell
  • Wyatt Otis
  • Findell
  • Otis
4:32
5."Intellectual Greed"
  • Findell
  • Otis
  • Findell
  • Otis
3:29
6."5G"  3:29
7."Preparation Exercise No. 7 (Trembling)"  3:42
8."CBD"  2:39
9."Stung"
  • Findell
  • Otis
  • Findell
  • Otis
5:35
10."Argyle"  2:45
11."Deepfake"  5:30
12."Introvert"
  • Findell
  • Danny Rakow
 6:14
13."Hypochondriac"
  • Findell
  • Rakow
 2:42
Total length:52:12

Note

Charts

Chart (2022)Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [10] 13

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sundaresan, Mano (3 February 2023). "brakence talks about his album'hypochondriac,' chronic pain and hyperpop". NPR. NPR . Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kim, Joshua Minsoo (22 November 2022). "Brakence makes glitchy emo-pop that's as confessional as it is inventive". Chicago Reader . Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  3. ↑ Angel, H.D. "Brakence: Hypochondriac". Pitchfork . Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  4. ↑ "@brakence on Instagram: "bloomtodeath"".
  5. ↑ https://twitter.com/brakence/status/1593276308045197312 [ bare URL ]
  6. ↑ https://twitter.com/brakence/status/1569399065351454722 [ bare URL ]
  7. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  8. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  9. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  10. ↑ "Billboard Heatseekers Albums". Billboard .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.