''Misery Lake'' (stylized in all lowercase) is the seventh EP by American singer Blackbear. It was released on August 13, 2021 through Beartrap, Alamo, and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and follows his previous album ''

Everything Means Nothing ''Everything Means Nothing'' (stylized in all lowercase) is the fifth studio album by American singer Blackbear. It was released in full on August 21, 2020, through Beartrap, Alamo Records and Interscope Records and follows his previous studio ...

''. The EP was written and produced by Blackbear and frequent collaborator Andrew Goldstein and features appearances from

Tate McRae Tate Rosner McRae (born July 1, 2003) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and dancer. She first gained prominence as the first Canadian finalist on the American reality television series ''So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series), So You Th ...

Sasha Alex Sloan Alexandra Artourovna Yatchenko (born March 11, 1995), known professionally as Sasha Alex Sloan (previously Sasha Sloan), is an American singer-songwriter. Her debut album, ''Only Child'', was released on October 16, 2020. It was met with critic ...

, and

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer who is the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has collaborated with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transplants ...

. It was preceded by the singles " U Love U" with Tate McRae, released June 4, 2021, and " @ My Worst", released August 6, 2021.

Background and composition

''Misery Lake'' was conceived and recorded alongside ''

'' in multiple

Airbnb Airbnb, Inc. ( , an abbreviation of its original name, "Air Bed and Breakfast") is an American company operating an online marketplace for short-and-long-term homestays, experiences and services in various countries and regions. It acts as a ...

houses. As a way to cope with

COVID-19 lockdowns During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of Non-pharmaceutical intervention (epidemiology), non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar socie ...

, Blackbear continued writing and recording music that eventually became the EP. On the topics of heartbreak, loneliness, and isolation, Blackbear further described the background of the EP in an interview with Grammy.com:

Critical reception

Paul Simpson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the EP a 2.5 out of 5 star-rating and wrote that ''Misery Lake'' "is strictly something to put on if you're in the mood for some pristinely crafted venting". He praised the songs "U Love U" and "@ My Worst".

Background and composition

Critical reception

Track listing

Charts

References