"Run your fingers on my waist/ I’ll push the pedal to it’s deepest pace": the music video for New York-via-Hong Kong singer-songwriter Kiri T's "Rearview Mirror" takes viewers on a subway ride (and not a car ride) through the concrete jungle and sleepy neighborhoods of New York, evenly keeping pace with the song's uptempo melody. The Berklee College of Music alumnus excels at pairing her relatively sultry, R&B-inflected vocals with lush harmonies and dreamy synths. She sings about losing control at one point - "It's speeding up/ I'm losing touch" - but the song's production maintains an evenhanded control over its hedonic and introspective lulls, as well as its adrenaline-inducing momentum.
In an interview with , where the music video premiered, Kiri explained that the song was the product of her mixed feelings regarding her relocation from Hong Kong to New York in order to pursue her musical ambitions:
“Rearview Mirror” is a feel-good song about leaving your past behind and finding the fun in losing control. Taking the listeners on an emotional roller coaster, from the love of torturing oneself to celebrating insobriety. A huge part of the meaning of this song stems from the emotions around my decision leaving Hong Kong and Asia. Feeling that I have to compromise a lot if I stay there, but at the same time knowing that I have more connections and foundations in Asia, that it would be easier to “make it” in Asia. But at last, I made a conscious decision to leave this comfort zone and move to New York because I believe this is the scene I belong to and really want to see how far I can go. Challenge my limitations, hands on the driver’s wheel, full speed ahead, no regrets, not looking at my rear view mirror".
