Even as a fan of pop music I get caught in the idea that pop has to fit a certain mold. You know, colorful, catchy, light, easy. Kai Straw’s music can be described with any of those adjectives, but what makes his brand of pop so unique is the way he blends in some darkness and grit. His latest effort “Brighter Me” is a perfect example.
On the surface, “Brighter Me” has a mellow, inviting feel thanks to James The Bear’s warm, textured production, but when you dig a little deeper, that darkness comes out. It’s in the subtle drawl and inflections Kai puts into his voice to give the raw, stripped-down feel and it’s most certainly in his lyrics. Here, the Bay Area native wrestles with his relationship with alcohol with some chilling lines “Like somehow I’m best with worms in my eyes,” that might go undetected, covered in the pop guise; the way he sneaks it in makes it even more haunting.
While we wait for more from Kai, I recommend getting familiar with his past work if you are new to his work. You can’t go wrong with his last two albums Gun and my personal favorite, Toothpick.