\n<\/p>\n
One model for \u201cGod Said No\u201d is probably Frank Ocean\u2019s 2016 \u201cBlonde,\u201d another heartbreak album awash in vulnerability; Apollo\u2019s reedy tenor often resembles Ocean\u2019s voice. On \u201cGod Said No,\u201d the guitars and keyboards are tamped down and reticent; drumbeats are present but not pushy. Even when the production deploys strings, horns or Apollo\u2019s own backup vocal harmonies, they\u2019re subdued and distant, more like apparitions than reinforcements.<\/p>\n
The partial exception is \u201cLess of You,\u201d<\/a> a metronomic synth-pop track that harks back to Giorgio Moroder (along with some Daft Punk-style filtered and harmonized vocals), with Apollo wondering, \u201cWas last night the end of me and you?\u201d Even with a blippy hook and a chorus that shifts into a major key, Apollo sounds increasingly alone and forlorn.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a loose narrative arc to the album. The songs trace a growing friction that leads to an estrangement, to testing new partners and, finally, to what might be either a reconciliation or a fond farewell. In the album\u2019s opener, \u201cBe Careful With Me,\u201d<\/a> Apollo sings, \u201cI tried to be someone you liked\/But it\u2019s just too much compromise,\u201d over acoustic guitar picking that hints at Elliott Smith. A few songs later, he insists \u2014 in a chorus that repeats the phrase 16 times \u2014 that he\u2019s \u201cDone With You.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Clearly, he\u2019s not. \u201cI can\u2019t let go, I should let go,\u201d he vacillates in \u201cDrifting.\u201d<\/a> In \u201cLife\u2019s Unfair,\u201d<\/a> he admits to having a fling while separated, but insists, \u201cWhen I was kissing him, I was seeing you\u201d and adds, \u201cI would\u2019ve married you.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Apollo has nodded to Mexican music on past albums and EPs, he has Spanish lyrics in just one song on \u201cGod Said No\u201d: \u201cEmpty,\u201d<\/a> an otherworldly waltz placed midway through the album. Its chorus plainly states, \u201cYou left me empty\/Hollowed and empty.\u201d The second verse switches to Spanish, as Apollo confesses that he can\u2019t stop thinking about his ex, and adds, in Spanish, that he\u2019s \u201csinging in another language so you don\u2019t understand me\/I don\u2019t want you to know how much it hurts.\u201d He\u2019s bereft, but trying to stay guarded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n