Orla Gartland Everybody Needs a Hero

Critic's Take

Measured and observant, Ray Finlayson finds on Everybody Needs a Hero an artist sharpening her hooks and magnifying relational truth. Orla Gartland balances the album’s highs and lows with songs like “Little Chaos” and “Kiss Ur Face Forever” that stick with you, even as gentler moments sometimes underdeliver. The record improves on its predecessor, serving cathartic choruses and sharper instincts while occasionally suffering from uneven production - those flashier moments still hit hard and make the best tracks stand out.

Key Points

• The best song, "Little Chaos", is best for its cathartic, infectious chorus and vocal nuance on the repeated word "chaos".
• The album’s core strengths are sharper hooks, candid relationship detail, and a balance of highs and lows despite occasional production unevenness.

Themes

Critic's Take

Orla Gartland makes clear on Everybody Needs a Hero that she is delightfully awkward and endlessly fun, with the best songs leaning into emotional candour and genre play. The record’s highlights, like “Both Can Be True” and “Who Am I?”, show her knack for intimate balladry and identity-driven hooks, while “The Hit” supplies the album’s catchiest, Lucy Dacus-flavoured moments. The reviewer revels in how Gartland spins a wheel of genres yet keeps the centred narrative intact, so searches for the best tracks on Everybody Needs a Hero will likely point to those emotionally precise moments. Overall, it reads as a confident, entertaining step forward that still leaves her identity slightly shapeshifting rather than fully distinct.

Key Points

• The best song is best because it pairs intimate songwriting with genre-appropriate production and emotional precision.
• The album’s core strengths are its focused storytelling, genre-hopping adventurousness, and candid lyricism.

Themes

Critic's Take

Orla Gartland doesn’t abandon her elder-sister counsel on Everybody Needs a Hero, but she deepens it, balancing grief and sharp humour to striking effect. The review places “Mine” front and centre as the best song on the album, a harrowingly intimate masterpiece that proves Gartland’s gifts. Complementary highlights include the LCD Soundsystem-tinged “Backseat Driver” and the bouncing indie burst of “Little Chaos”, which together show why listeners searching for the best tracks on Everybody Needs a Hero should start there. The record keeps Gartland’s storytelling instincts intact while pushing her into new, intriguing directions that reward repeated listens.

Key Points

• “Mine” is best because it is called a harrowingly intimate masterpiece that took years to compose and proves Gartland’s emotional honesty.
• The album’s core strengths are intimate storytelling, a balance of grief and humour, and adventurous shifts into energetic indie and electronic-tinged sounds.

Themes

Critic's Take

In her second LP Orla Gartland crafts Everybody Needs a Hero with brash, bold confidence, and the best songs - notably “Backseat Driver” and “Late To The Party” - lean into a pleasing ’90s inflection. Charlotte Grimwade’s voice here relishes dark humour and angsty cliché, so the record’s highlights sit where guitar-anthem overload meets wistful vulnerability. Tracks such as “The Hit” and “Who Am I?” showcase Orla’s soaring voice and dexterity, making them among the best tracks on Everybody Needs a Hero. The closing title cut ties the themes together with a memorable line about isolation and trying, rounding out why these are the album’s standout moments.

Key Points

• Backseat Driver and Late To The Party stand out for their ’90s inflection and memorable guest feature.
• The album’s core strengths are Orla’s vocal dexterity, bold creative vision, and a balance of guitar anthems with folky calm.

Themes

Critic's Take

Orla Gartland’s Everybody Needs a Hero thrives on sharp, chatty songwriting and gleeful production risks, with tracks like “Kiss Ur Face Forever” and “Backseat Driver” standing out as the album’s best songs for their fizz and fury. Mylrea’s voice delights in the record’s knack for combining gut-punch couplets with witty quips, so when she praises “Sound Of Letting Go” as floor-shaking it carries weight. The result is an LP that often favors high-octane moments over its quieter turns, making those pop-punk and indie-rock bursts the best tracks on Everybody Needs a Hero.

Key Points

• The best song is a high-octane, witty burst like “Kiss Ur Face Forever” because it marries pop-punk energy with frank, memorable lines.
• The album’s core strengths are sharp, humorous songwriting and bold production choices that expand Gartland’s sonic palette.

Themes

Critic's Take

Orla Gartland's Everybody Needs a Hero makes clear which are the best tracks on Everybody Needs a Hero - chiefly “Late To The Party” and “Mine” - because Gartland pairs daring production with bruising honesty. The reviewer's voice revels in the high-octane indie bangers like “Sound of Letting Go” while celebrating the album's softer, devastating moments, most notably “Mine”. There is a confident throughline from the bold pop immediacy of “Late To The Party” to the stripped, raw emotional core of “Both Can Be True”, and that juxtaposition is exactly why these are the best songs here.

Key Points

• ‘Late To The Party’ is the standout for its infectious, high-octane indie banger energy and celebrated collaboration.
• The album’s core strengths are bold production choices paired with brutally honest lyricism and clear artistic evolution.

Themes