Bitter's Kiss

Supported by a likeminded father who supplies this young, ambitious singer with all of the means and expertise she needs to discover her dream, Bitter’s Kiss – also known as Chloe Baker – looks all set for the limelight. She has been active in musical theatre for many years already and this shines through in the confidence of her performances. This eponymous album marks the continual progression of the artist from the small Hudson County township of Weehawken, NJ. Now she’s taking her talent from small stages in front of a few to recording studios to be heard by many.

There are very few singers with Bitter’s Kiss’s raw talent and self-awareness to be able to adequately represent a young modern audience dealing with angst, puberty and the evolution of thoughts and worldviews. It feels like the Bitter’s Kiss album is aptly timed to fill a gaping hole in the music market.

Ordinarily the hardships of suburban life are subordinated for more severe world issues, and many would say righty so. But Baker can only write about what she knows and there is an audience interested in empathising and sympathising with Generation Z. Almost like extracts from her diary, Baker’s ability to tell stories throughout the album make some of the more twee material more cinematic and enthralling to a wider audience. Soon I begun to understand a new perspective that we rarely hear in song - the detached, insular existence of so many young people who have it all materially but are emotionally stunted.

Similar to the likes of Sixpence, Regina Spektor and Bedroom Walls, songs like ‘The Rope’ and ‘Already Gone’ show the singer’s confidence with dark, important subjects. ‘Waste of it All’ has a waltzy bounce and the titular song is empowering and uplifting but, for the most part, ‘Bitter’s Kiss’ offers slow, wistful melodies – ones that illuminate the calm, restlessness of the life of Chloe Baker as ‘Bitter’s Kiss’ slinks between melancholic and comfortable but never truly happy. These are all the senses I draw from listening that make it such a superb, sophisticated experience.

An almost bipolar rollercoaster of emotional ups and downs, as is the ephemeral sensitivities of young people, Baker’s reminiscence of teen torture allies well with her indie pop proclivities to create a vivid illustration of post-millennials in Middle America.