Yeehaw! Gimmie synth! All the synth! And also gimmie ballsy and badass female fronted bands with an attitude!
That is what Bitter Kisses are giving me and I am 100% in.
This Bristol based four piece is Gemma Tracey (vocals), Thomas Adams (bass and vocals), Josh Butches (guitar and vocals), and Scarlett Cawley (drums) and their debut single “Pr*y” is out now!
The band says this of the inspiration behind “Pr*y”,
Pr*y was partially inspired by a fever dream in which Lady Gaga collaborated with Queens of the Stone Age to produce a new Earth Wind And Fire song.
And well…“Pr*y” takes that dream and makes it a reality!
Bitter Kisses further adds,
When writing “Pr*y” we wanted to create a track which could ambiguously explore the difference in meanings of the words ‘prey’ and ‘pray’, and how they each apply to dangerous or unhealthy relationships. One person could worship another, while at the same time being preyed upon by the subject of their love. The meaning of the lyrics can change depending on which version prey/pray you want to hear whenever they’re used in the song.
As the song kicks off, I pick up a bit of 90’s alt vibe via “Ladykiller” by Lush and there’s a hint of Human League towards the end of the song and as I said before, “Pr*y” makes the Lady Gaga and Queens of the Stone Age a dream reality as there is also a Josh Homme and Queens of the Stone Age vibe as well.
But don’t let the sound of the synths fool you into thinking this song is a straight up pop song.
The sound is bright and poppy, but there’s a beautiful menacing and thunderous bass and bass drum that slithers throughout the song as if stalking its prey. They allow Gemma’s vocals to float on top of their beats with ease and they only amplify the deeper baritone vocals of Thomas. Thomas and Scarlett have me hooked, but not to be out done by his bandmates, Josh seems to mimic the sounds of the synth at points in time but then kicks the listener in the teeth with a wonderful guitar solo that drives the song towards its final kill.
“Pr*y” is bright, bold, and thunderous like an apex predator on the hunt and our ears are its prey, ready to succumb to the music. Bitter Kisses has unleashed an infectious and catchy debut single and we cannot wait to hear what’s next!
Watch “Pr*y” below
