If it weren't for her breakthrough single "Gold", most of the world wouldn't have known of 20-year old Kiiara, an Illinois native who works at a hardware store during the day and makes music at night.
"Gold" is basically a diss-track to a bad lover - a familiar theme that comes across as refreshing and novel by virtue of Kiaara's melodic swagger and producer Felix Snow's icy, minimalist and glitchy electro-glitch pop production:
'Gold up in my, gold up in my teeth (Gold up, gold up in my teeth)Don’t care what you say to me, I'm a bite your feelings out (Gold up in my teeth)I missed you in the basement (Gold up in my teeth)But your brother was a good substitute for you'
Lyrics:
Jezebel's Jia Tolentino notes that the song is "hugely impressive from the jump—catchy and abstract, snapping and glinting and glitching with perfect assurance", while CoS listed it as a song of the week in June last year:
"“Gold” is a treat for the voyeur in us all. Peering from behind Felix Snow’s rippling instrumental, we are witness to Kiiara wrestling with the challenges of young love. Snow reflects this turmoil in his jittery melodies, distorted duets, and twisted percussive lines. Despite, or in response to, this trauma, Kiiara’s vocals only grow more confident and beautiful as the beat rolls".
While what immediately stands out is Snow's interesting sliced-and-diced-vocals effect and spacey production, Kiiara's compelling blend of vulnerability and strength also contributes to the track's arresting effect. She somehow manages to exude both charismatic swagger and emotional intelligence, producing a track that brillantly captures the challenges of young adulthood in this tech-intensive age by foregrounding the opposing needs for intimacy and independence:
'And if you love me, love me but you never let me goWhen the roof was on fire, you never let me knowSay you’re sorry honey, but you never really showAnd I could leave the party without ever letting you knowWithout ever letting you know.'
