Kami Kehoe is back with her new ep ‘KANDY’ via Atlantic Records, Coup D’Etat Recordings and 10K Projects. This is her latest project since her album ‘REVIVED’ last year and single ‘Safehouse’ featuring Colorblind and Ekoh, which saw all royalties donated to help with the LA wildfires. Kami continues her journey to ‘Kure the world’ through her emotionally vulnerable alt-rock tracks. I find Kami Kehoe to be one of the most exciting up-and-coming artists in the rock scene, creating a safe place online for fans to connect with their feelings, soundtracked by her tunes; “I make music for me; I release music for others”. This latest project still maintains her distinctive sound, heavily based around drums, while allowing her vocals to be more prominent on this 5 song EP.
So, let’s dive into this next lot of timeless classics!
First up is ‘KANDY’, a song that fans have been begging for, for months, online. This track starts off slowly like a ballad with soft vocals over a mix of electric and acoustic guitar, before the heavy guitar riffs and drums come crashing in. ‘KANDY’ uses metaphors throughout to convey how something (in this case a relationship) can be so ‘sweet’ and yet so destructive at the same time; ‘you taste like candy but you’re rotting my teeth’. This song keeps Kami Kehoe’s distinctive sound while allowing a new, softer side to shine through and the production throughout this EP is a lot more refined compared to ‘REVIVED’, you can tell that she’s really found her niche and taken the time to explore her sound even further. This track can only be described as an escapistic, co-dependency anthem, best listened to while watching the rain through a window to fully appreciate the intricate production and background screams.
‘OBSESSED’ is another atmospheric, movie-like sounding song with many punchy breakdowns. This one sounds like it belongs on her latest album ‘REVIVED’ so if you loved that album as much as I did, I’m sure this song will be a firm favourite off this project. ‘Did I make you obsessed?’. I think everyone is obsessed with how Kami effortlessly combines elements of metal, alternative and hip-hip into this hypnotic blend!
‘MAKE U HATE ME’ starts with an upbeat tempo but still a slower approach before exploding with background sound effects, framing, and adding depth to her powerful vocals once again. This track has a nostalgic feel to it, helped by the dimensional production that carefully balances the dynamic drumming with her vocals ensuring both can be heard without overpowering each other. The dimensional mix combined with the layered deceptive lyrics really makes this song a masterpiece.
‘DOPAMINE’ was the only single released ahead of this release and quickly climbed its way to the top of Kami’s Spotify, with it blowing up as soon as it hit streaming services. It starts off with glitchy vocals before the breakdown comes crashing in, before fading back out, allowing the emotional vocals to shine through and build up into another heavier crescendo. They nailed the production on this one, translating the emotional turmoil of losing yourself in a relationship into a trippy soundscape. I particularly enjoyed the verse at 3:03, where it turns from self-pity and blame to frustration, it’s just the perfect catchy mix of punchy riffs, layered vocals, and strong drums, creating the perfect outlet to let the anger go.
The final track ‘COME DOWN’ is one of Kami’s most emotionally raw and unfiltered songs yet. She ‘doesn’t want to be rescued’, she’d rather wallow in self-pity and serve vocals. It is instrumentally a lot more stripped back than the rest of her discography. Allowing her to use her full vocal range as her main tool to convey her heartfelt lyrics. She starts off with angelic, but still edgy, whispered vocals before transitioning into stronger vocals and then transcending further into a full belt.
It is refreshing to hear Kami Kehoe exploring her voice more on this body of work. As drums have always been a big part of her life, it is nice to see her leaning more into her vocals instead of hiding behind the safety net of her drumkit. This EP has a super diverse sound where not a single track sounds similar and makes me even more excited to continue watching her growth as she explores her full potential and to see what else she creates in the future!
Catch her at Warped Tour this weekend, or her LA headline show next week and on tour with Seether, Daughtry and P.O.D., later this year! tickets can be found here.