K.FLAY – ALBUM REVIEW

K.Flay – Solutions (Interscope Records) 

K.Flay - Solutions

Release Date: 12^th July 2019

LA’s hottest property K.Flay is finally dropping her new album and it comes just in time for summer. ‘Solutions’ is a ten-track collection that opens with the ode to self-worth ‘I Like Myself’, a track that delicately throbs in to action with some innocent sounding vocals singing razor sharp lyrics. “Everybody wants to count their calories, their dollars and their likes” sings K.Flay in a song that riles against pretty much every aspect of modern, image obsessed society with a message that could bring a lot of young people back from the brink if they just give it time – “You only get one shot, let her rip”. On ‘Bad Vibes’ there’s a more steely, aggressive vibe which has a Sleigh Bells sound to it while ‘This Baby Don’t Cry’ has a garage-punk energy which Regina Spektor could be found singing with Le Tigre.

We’re well on the way now and ‘Sister’ moves into synth-pop territory normally occupied by the likes of Ladytron or LadyHawke with uplifting melodies and impish vocals. The trip slows down a few gears on ‘Nervous’ as the electric piano chords give us a chance to hear K.Flay’s vocals stripped back to their tender and delicate tones and she stands up to every bit of scrutiny. The stabbing piano notes at the start of ‘Good News’ shake you out of your reverie and the rapid-fire vocal is slickly delivered by an artist at the peak of her creative freedom. There is more of a quirk to ‘Ice Cream’ with a Kate Nash-esque guitar line mixed with some direct lyrics taking on the issue of a lust-triangle; “you are my ice-cream, you make my brain freeze” is a love letter delivered from the centre of an amour-affected brain.

K.Flay, OK?

Recent single ‘Not In California’ makes even more sense in the context of this album and the Lily Allen of the United States sings straight at the climate emergency deniers; “The birds all died and the trees caught fire and the government called us crazy”. ‘Only the Dark’ pulses and throbs with dark, malevolent energy before closing track ‘DNA’ takes us over the edge with an epic pop odyssey full of class, sophistication and, well, ideas. And this is the secret of K.Flay, she has ideas. Each song is articulate, clever, funny, sassy and direct which is exactly what you should expect from a pop album in 2019. This is why this album might just be in my top albums of 2019 unless the second half of the year gets significantly better.

More information: https://www.facebook.com/kflaymusic/

Live Dates:

17^th July – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

18^th July – Howler, Melbourne

2^nd August – Wisconsin State Fair, West Allis

3^rd August – Queen Mary Events Park, Long Beach

24^th August – Edge Fest, Civic Commons Park

3^rd September – Luckyman Concerts, Tempe

5^th September – The Observatory North Park, San Diego

7^th September – Fox Theater, Oakland

9^th September – The Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver

11^th September – Showbox SoDo, Seattle

13^th September – Crystal Ballroom, Portland

14^th September – The Wilma, Missoula

17^th September – First Avenue & 7^th St Entry, Minneapolis

19^th September – The Riviera Theatre, Chicago

20^th September – The Crofoot, Pontiac

21^st September – Town Ballroom, Buffalo

22^nd September – The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto

24^th September – Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn

25^th September – Royale, Boston

26^th September – TLA, Philadelphia

29^th September – 9:30 Club, Washington

30^th September The Fillmore, Charlotte

2^nd October – Marathon Music Works, Nashville

11^th October – Barton Springs/Zilker Park, Austin

12^th October – Fillmore Auditorium, Denver

21^st October – Saint Luke’s & the Winged Ox, Glasgow

22^nd October – Gorilla, Manchester

23^rd October – Heaven, London

25^th October – Paradiso Noord, Tolhuistuin

26^th October – Botanique, Brussels

27^th October – La Maroquinerie, Paris

29^th October – Kulturkirche Koln, Cologne

31^st October – Astra Kulturhaus, Berlin

1^st November – Hotel Cecil, Copenhagen

2^nd November – Nalen, Stockholm

4^th November – Markthalle, Hamburg

5^th November – WERK2-Kulturfabrik, Leipzig-Connewitz

7^th November – Rock Café, Prague

8^th November – FLEX, Vienna

9^th November – Dom in Berg, Graz

10^th November – STROM, Munich

11^th November – Zoom Club, Frankfurt