On every Short Fictions album, there is some kind of apocalypse happening. With Fates Worse Than Death, the threat of climate change loomed in the background of each song. Last year’s Every Moment of Every Day featured romantic infatuation amplified to the dramatic scale of a trainwreck. The band’s new third album and second for Lauren Records, Oblivion Will Own Me and Death Alone Will Love Me, sits at the center of several crises. From the sudden deaths of close friends, to the effects of aging on touring and making music, and the aftermaths of those aforementioned infatuations, these ideas converge to create a return to form for the Pittsburgh emo band. “I wrote this one in kind of a time of panic,” says guitarist and vocalist Sam Treber. “Whereas the last one was a fun one, this one's a little bit more chaotic and spastic again. Where Every Moment of Every Day felt like a tight mixtape of pop songs, this record’s tracklist has a larger scale. It’s filled with momentary detours like the instrumental “I Cannot Possibly Perceive the Least Kinship Now Between the Dead Girl and Myself Which Makes Most of My Days Inevitably Dreary,” the bedroom pop snippet “I’m Going to Kill Myself With a Gun,” and the Twin Peaks-quoting “Pittsburgh.” Each of these moments support Treber’s strong sense of place and time on Oblivion Will Own Me and Death Alone Will Love Me, especially when placed between power pop joys like lead single “Wasting,” “To Loved Ones Lost in Persuit of Foolish Passions,” or the screamo title-track.
Tracklist: 1. Self Betterment in a Time of Loneliness 2. Reno Nevada, January 2020 3. I Cannot Possibly Perceive the Least Kinship Now Between the Dead Girl and Myself Which Makes Most of My Days Inevitably Dreary 4. Wasting 5. I'm Going to Kill Myself with a Gun 6. To Loved Ones Lost in Pursuit of Foolish Passions 7. Max 8. Anymore 9. Oblivion Will Own Me and Death Alone Will Love Me 10. Pittsburgh (interlude) 11. (Don't Let Me) Love You