The Emotional Journey of “The Misunderstood EP”

Korean Australian singer-songwriter Hannah Bahng’s “The Misunderstood EP” is another solid release for the artist.

Released on Sept. 12, through her own company “Bahng Entertainment,”  the EP spans seven tracks across 21 minutes. The EP features “what never lived,” “Sweet Satin Boy,” and “Orchid/Flame,” which were all released first as singles leading up to the EP’s release.

“The Misunderstood EP,” while similar in sound to Bahng’s “The Abysmal EP,” offers an exploratory look for the artist, as it tells an overarching story of unrequited love, toxicity, and losing and finding yourself all over again.

The opening track, “Orchid/Flame,” covers the topic of unrequited love and the consuming nature of that feeling.

“MISUNDERSTOOD” covers the oppressive feeling of being misunderstood by others, followed by “what never lived,” which represents a “situationship,” highlighting a dating but not dating situation.

“Sweet Satin Boy” focuses on the loss of identity that comes with a toxic push-and-pull relationship dynamic, and “RIBS (interlude)” begins to explore the exhaustion of accepting that you’ve been hurt by someone and the lingering ache.

“raison d’être” asks the question “who am I?” with one of the lines in the song being “Living in my mind, screaming ‘Who the fuck am I?’” The track explores the after effects of losing yourself to another person and slowly figuring out who you are without that person and dealing with the pain.

Wrapping up the EP’s journey, “IM ME AGAIN,” is a track of self-discovery. Finally finding yourself again, following the chaos of the unrequited love and toxicity that Bahng sings about in the rest of her EP.

Altogether, the EP has a softer, more low-key sound, with “what never lived” being the most upbeat of the seven tracks.

While only 21 minutes long, the EP packs a punch, bringing the listener on a journey of hurt, emotion, and healing.