Dominic Harrison, more commonly known by his stage name Yungblud, released “the underrated youth,” an EP focusing on today’s youth and the oppression we face in our lives.

Yungblud has always been known for pushing the limit of not only the music industry but the public as a whole. He destroys gender stereotypes by wearing skirts on stage during his concerts and openly talks about his struggles with mental health. Harrison implements various controversial topics into his music, which is one of the many reasons why I admire him so much.

As far as the genre of music goes, it is a bit of a mess. He has some songs that are more mainstream pop music, but also plenty of songs with a pop-punk vibe to them, as well as some electronic hip-hop songs. On his recent EP, each of those vibes are displayed clearly. 

On “the underrated youth,” there are three songs that really stuck with me due to the message they send out: “parents,” “casual sabotage,” and “hope for the underrated youth.”

“parents” was the first single from this EP to be released back in late May of this year. This is one of the songs that attracted me to Yungblud in the first place. I remember a friend playing this song in her car one day and thinking, “Man, this guy sure does have a lot to say.” A common theme in a lot of Yungblud’s songs is that parents and adult figures alike sometimes try to force their beliefs onto their child, essentially brainwashing them into carbon copies of themselves. 

I cannot even begin to describe the instrumentals of this song. It starts out with a muffled guitar riff that bleeds into a catchy piano and drum combination that lasts throughout the whole song. One might get tired of it, and I’m not going to lie when I say that I did at first. However, after listening to it a few times, it really began to grow on me — I often found myself humming along to the piano and tapping away with the drums.

The lyrics of this song explain how easily parents can bring children down, chastising them for their issues and sizing down any hardships they may be facing. Despite the challenges the song focuses on, it also includes some positives. The line “My high hopes are getting low, but I know I’ll never be alone” describes how even in the face of condescending adults, the patronized youth can find refuge in each other.

“casual sabotage” was originally described as a lullaby by Yungblud himself, and I can definitely see why. With soothing instrumentals paired with hauntingly melodic harmonies, “casual sabotage” is a close second favorite of mine. 

Yungblud sings about how difficult it can be to deal with personal issues when you are not quite sure of what exactly is happening. The pre-chorus of the song shows how much of a struggle it can be to deal with these burdens, “I’m tryna get to sleep with the lights on, ‘cause I am confused and I’m frightened.” With that line, Yungblud defines how difficult a simple task, such as sleeping, can be when a person carries personal burdens.

The underlying meaning of this song is rather deep but in a way that is commendable. “casual sabotage” preaches about lurking fears and anxieties about not being good enough for a person. Yungblud sings about what it is like to stay awake all night, overthinking every single decision.

My favorite song on this EP is “hope for the underrated youth”, mainly because of the concealed meaning and the way Yungblud promoted the release. This song develops the idea that some people are alienated due to the way they express themselves. 

When you take into consideration that Yungblud’s big thing is challenging stereotypes and breaking stigmas, this song gains greater meaning. Before the song was even released, Yungblud did a last-minute concert on the Thames river in the UK and projected the lyrics to the song on the side of the UK Parliament building, all while delivering a heart-wrenching speech about how people are bonded by society to fit into the “perfect person” role.

In his speech, Yungblud claimed, “This song is about freedom of speech. This song is about freedom of expression. This song is about forward-thinking, racism hating, LGBTQ+, liberal ‘sinners’ that we all are. I see that there is hope for this ‘underrated youth’ and I believe the future looks bright because we are in it.”

Yungblud never ceases to amaze me with his unbelievable talent and a relentless drive to break the toxic stigma looming over today’s youth to fit in.