Words By: Bre Offenberger

Alternative artist Two Feet has released his sophomore full-length effort, a concept album called Max Maco Is Dead Right? The 13-track project is a devastatingly beautiful deep dive into the deteriorating mindset of the titular character Max, who is somehow able to make sense out of the buzzing in his head.

Stimulating synths, overlaid by a deep breath of reverbed guitar, dot the air to set the scene on “Nightmares.” The guitar continues to ring as Max admits he feels different around this person —seemingly, his demons — and he knows if they find a way to suck him in, the intrusive thoughts will swallow him whole. In the last minute, he gorgeously harmonizes with the swarming instrumentation, though the vocalization may actually be a subtle scream for help as he finds his demons consuming him.

“Flatline,” lucky enough, has a video. It starts off with a warning, however, for those who have epilepsy: it could possibly induce a seizure, so discretion is advised. A hypnotic guitar ensues while the camera zooms out to put Max — who’s lying in a hospital bed — in focus. His TV is showing nothing by static, and he’s jolted awake and heads out of his room, possibly from orders by his demons. He’s found, placed on a gurney and promptly returned to his room before the devil on his shoulder arrives and gives him a shot of God knows what. He leaves again but is wheeled back, this time happily clutching to his oxygen tank, and he falls fully asleep — but the music keeps echoing in his head, signaling the demons are far from done with him.

“Lies” kicks off with a fiery guitar riff that sounds like a variation of the infamous bass line from Tame Impala’s “The Less I Know The Better.” As Max reflects on a broken relationship, he realizes everything she ever told him was a fib. Even flashing forward to present-day, though they’re over, he can be sure that whatever she’s telling others about him is far from the truth. He starts croons over the roaring guitar as it fades out, adding a piece of beauty to his sticky situation.

Though the majority of the tracks have reflective guitar riffs, the one in “I Can’t See at All” is extra dreamy. It moves in steps, continuing to trickle as Max attempts to put his feelings into discernible thoughts. He finds himself unable to evade his demons, even though he constantly puts an immense amount of time and effort into that goal. He’s become so lost in his escape route that he admits he doesn’t know how to function at all without them anymore, even though they used to be what was killing him. The track concludes the same way it started, showcasing the cycle of helplessness Max goes through each day.

The record was self-produced by Two Feet alongside help from John Feldmann — who has worked with the likes of Blink-182 and Panic! At The Disco — and Geoffrey Hufford and Andrew Luce. To write the album, Two Feet put ideas to paper and hung them on a wall before tackling each story individually and creating Max’s full narrative. This release proves why Two Feet is worthy of the billions of streams he’s accumulated so far — and why that number is about to skyrocket even more.