Words By: Andrea Susarrey

After a long hiatus of not releasing anything except for a series of singles back in 2019, Kilo Kish is back with new single “American Gurl” from her upcoming American Gurl album.

Kilo Kish, is an extremely underrated, experimental pop star who not too long ago released her single “American Gurl”. Reminiscent of the legendary women of the 2010s like Santigold and early MIA, Kilo has a synthy and melodic sound that’s comforting and makes you want to dance, all the while saturated in her nonconforming personality. She delivers a world that’s intoxicatingly real and whimsical at the same time, but it always feels completely like her own.

The video for “American Gurl” is yet another example of her impeccably creative and original visuals, although this is nothing new as she’s consistently delivered originality since the beginning of her career. Directed and produced by herself (co-directed with Matt Cowen), it’s a Wes Anderson-esque scene with Kish lost in a desert, dressed to the nines, as always, in a metallic jumpsuit contrasting the sunkissed sand surrounding her. She dances to the camera holding a toylike remote and a metallic crystal ball saying in her opening verse:

“NO GUTS 
NO GLORY 
SAME OLD FIGURE
BUT DIFFERENT STORY
CAN’T BELIEVE 
I BOUGHT WHAT YOU SOLD ME
JUST A LITTLE MORE 
STANDS BEFORE ME 
SO I RUN”

This song is a declaration of running away, of changing paths and witnessing yourself. Covered in a veil of dance synths and poppy aesthetics, she reveals her introspective nature in her lyrics that can be easily overlooked if you don’t look close enough. Kish is back and she’s talking about being different, having changed. 

Kish lives in the sweet middle ground between artist and musician. Constantly oscillating between supersaturated pop sounds and visuals, and stretching them too far to where they become experimental, fragmented sections or observations of the oversaturated world. Kish reflects this oscillation in her art, fluctuating and mixing her music with her performative and experimental nature. I wonder where the artist that’s always discretely two steps ahead will take us next.