Rio Romeo -- Good Grief!
In Good Grief!, Rio Romeo gifts us with a snappy album that is anything but short and sweet. Rather, it's a prickly exploration into the joys and challenges of the queer experience.
Rio Romeo doesn't settle for the easy path on Good Grief! Rome has gone viral on TikTok for their cheeky sense of humor, but that's just a paper-thin veneer for pain. Good Grief! delves into life's contradictions – and in Romeo's hands, what at first feels like a breezy pop zinger is in fact a deeply-layered composition.
"God's Got Something Out For Me" is a quirky chamber pop ditty that turns a wry spotlight onto the mental health industrial complex. You might be tapping your foot...until Romeo's cutting lyrics open a new hole inside you. Meanwhile, "Orchard Of One" finds joy in fierce independence...while exploring the opposite of extreme of codependence.
There's sincerity here as well – "All Mine" is an achingly (but not cloyingly) sweet love song, an all-too-rare feat in an age that demands a distanced sincerity for fear of being too "cringe." Meanwhile, "Driving Home Homeless" showcases Rio's vocal performance and the seemingly soul-rending experience of reconciling with their queer-phobic parents.
Even with all that, the album's emotional climax is "JOHNNYSCOTT" a country-tinged murder ballad with theatrical sensibilities. This is the ultimate revenge fantasy, and there is something blissfully satisfying hearing Romeo finally expose their truth – and abuser. Good Grief! is short, but it's neither sweet nor sour. Rather, it's spiky – love may be love, but there's more to being queer than that.
