Rose Gold - Kitty: Review
Kitty Ray
AKA Kitty, AKA ❤kitty❤, AKA Kitty Pryde is a rap/pop singer with a winding history of music in the 2010's. From the critical acclaim of major music outlets to the ire of old-head rap fans it can be hard to pin down retrospectively what exactly happened with the rise of Kitty but tracing it is essential to understand how we arrived at Rose Gold.
Review By Lavender:
Luckily I've been a Kitty fan for a long, long time. The Lizzie McGuire Experience came out when I was in 8th grade and as much as I was learning to admire the heroes of rap who built the rules of the genre I was equally intrigued by those willing to break those same rules. When Okay Cupid blew up in 2012 I was right there defending Kitty online and retrospectively I think this music holds up better than I would have imagined if you had made me really think about it back then. Haha I'm Sorry and D.A.I.S.Y Rage are unique, sign of the times internet rap albums that refuse to follow in line and let Kitty show her personality in an unabashed way. I excitedly waited over the next few years through a law-suit and watched as Flowerviolence turned into Frostbite and ultimately Kitty's music and my enjoyment of it followed me well into my high school years when 2017 saw the long awaited release of Kitty's debut solo album Miami Garden Club where she made a successful transition from cloud rap to synth pop. The point I'm getting at with all of this is that you can flip through the internet and find a lot of noise surrounding Kitty throughout the years, but ultimately Rose Gold is going to provide you some memorable moments no matter where you're coming at it from.
Despite the fact that I am a pretty big fans of Kitty's, my opinions on Rose Gold were mixed at points and it would be dishonest of me to tell you this was the greatest project I'd ever heard, so let me get some of my least favorite moments out of the way first. Lock Demure has a lot of good instrumentation going for it as it hits you with a rattling beat and some cool synth effects straight away but the song feels like it's wandering and the structure completely drowns in its mix, making for a breezy but ultimately unmemorable listen. Sweat has similar issues with structure but also falls short of the level of detail that Lock has and may be my least favorite song here, it just seems kind of pointless in the grander scheme of the project. And for the most part the three different forms of Sam Ray features that land in the second part of the album come off pretty well with the exception of The Window. It hits you with an instrumental that conjures up memories of American Pleasure Club's tamest moments while also clashing with Kitty's vocal style and performance.
And as far as the rest of the album goes, every track left has something that hits well. Starting with the opener Counting All The Starfish. It's not the most satisfying composition here but she shimmering kick drum beat and Jenny Hval inspired whispered vocals are an intoxicating blend that Kitty brings throughout the album. The beat switch-up and tempo changes aren't exactly my favorite elements here but the song serves its purpose as a solid intro. Medicine in contrast to Window features an excellent interpolation of styles as Kitty's husband Sam Ray features under his solo moniker Ricky Eat Acid. The bouncy and softly industrial track is a variety packed and consistently exciting feature that blends really well with Kitty's soft vocals and measured performance to create a track that stands out in the project for its sonic experimentation.
Even towards the middle of the record we are hit with back to back interlude style tracks that both serve a good purpose. First up is Kitty's Farm a track I'm willing to bet takes some influence from C418's Minecraft soundtrack to create a blissful and breezy two minute musical interlude that relaxes at first and then soothes when it introduces some sliding percussion in the second half. This is followed by the Don't Panic Interlude that features smoky and sensual vocals from Kitty as she gets up close and personal with the tracks whispered refrains about breathing and self-reflection. Florida is the closing track also featuring Sam Ray that contains some fantastic moments and is a good standalone cut, but gets a little bit overshadowed by one of the track we will talk about a little bit later.
By FAR my favorite two songs on the album are B.O.M.B (peter) and Strange Magic. B.O.M.B is an absolutely sugary synth pop song that pulls together a killer instrumental with some of my favorite refrains on the entire album. The "back on my bullshit" bridge at the end of the song is one of my standout moments of the album and I found myself coming back to this over and over again. But for a longtime Kitty fan there was absolutely nothing better on this album then when Kitty steps up to drop a bad bitch anthem like she isn't even trying on Strange Magic. The heavy keys and catchy hook of this song are excellent moments but the most noteworthy part of Magic is definitely one of my favorite musical moments of 2019 so far. Kitty returns to what put her on the map with a rap verse for the ages that features killer lyrics bar after bar and even as short as it is filled a lust I've had for a long time to hear her rapping at the top of her game once again.
In closing much like American Pleasure Club's album just last week Kitty's Rose Gold is indulgent and has unrelenting personality. Even though the album isn't perfect it contains some brilliant moments and lines up perfectly with the artistic progression of one of the internet ages most interesting characters. 7/10
For more reviews from the Ray family check out my review of American Pleasure Club's Fucking Bliss here.
