Photo Credit: Paige Strabala
These past years have seen MOTHICA’s popularity increase by quite an impressive margin. Her song Vices went viral on TikTok, and in the time since, she’s opened for bands such as Coheed and Cambria, received acclaim from the likes of Billboard and MTV, and even released her second full-length album, Nocturnal. But now, the time has come for the alt-pop artist to trade in the blue and green hues of her past release and usher in a new era: her new album, Kissing Death, is almost upon us.
Conceived as a visual album with a music video accompanying each of the 12 tracks, MOTHICA’s latest studio effort is her most ambitious – and vulnerable – in scope yet. Kissing Death sees the singer, real name McKenzie Ellis, tackle subjects such as substance abuse and suicidal ideation, but the twist comes in the way it’s all tackled. Whereas some people fear death and all it involves, Ellis chooses to portray the grim reaper as a rom-com style love interest throughout the tracks and their accompanying music videos, taking the idea of romanticising death to the next level.
This all carries through to the music itself, which was intended to feel cinematic and complement MOTHICA’s intended vision right from the start. Intro track The Void greets the listener with dark and moody synths, which perfectly set the mood for the sonic journey to come, before leading into the melodic Exit Plan. Its lyrics which could very well be the catchphrase for this album: “How do you live when you don’t wanna die anymore?”. Doomed is the album’s closest track to a ballad, touching on the singer’s early years and the abuse she endured, while The Reaper takes an ironic spin on the usual love song, proclaiming the grim reaper as “dependable” and “reliable”.
Elsewhere on the record, Red sees the synths traded in for equally moody guitars, and Toxins opens with a fuzzy bass guitar laying the foundation for Ellis’ melodic, crooning vocals. One of the biggest surprises that can be heard (and seen) on Kissing Death, however, is found in the form of Mirage and its bouncy feeling chorus. The song is paired with an equally stunning music video, replete with Wild West-style saloons and burlesque dancers.
It cannot be understated how good the visual side of this album is. For those familiar with MOTHICA’s past output, this should come as no surprise, but the way her concepts are brought to life is nothing short of spectacular. The only possible criticism to this package is the length, with only three of the 12 tracks exceeding the 3-minute mark, and while some may lament a supposed lack of variety compared to its predecessor, this only makes Kissing Death a more cohesive musical rollercoaster, from beginning to end.
Congratulations on yet another amazing record, McKenzie! We cannot wait for the remaining music videos to come out, and hope to see one of your shows really soon!
9/10
Standout Tracks: Another High, Red, The Reaper, Mirage
For Fans Of: PVRIS, Poppy, DeathbyRomy, KiNG MALA, Kailee Morgue
Written by: Florin Petrut
