If you haven’t heard of the family band straight out of NJ, bitter’s kiss, you should! bitter’s kiss is a duo consisting of the young singer, Chloe Baker, and her father, Michael Baker. These two are a dynamic duo that can be compared to Regina Spektor, Sixpence, None the Richer, Nellie McKay, Sarah McLaghlan, and Carole King.
bitter’s kiss is basically a group designed for singer/songwriter Chloe Baker to showcase her talents. She grew up with music all around her. Her father, who owned a studio, a guitar collection, and a band, has been active in musical theater for years. Chloe Baker currently attends High Tech, an arts academy in North Bergen, NJ. She has been serious about writing music for around a year, and has worked with her father to record and produce her music over the past several months. She uses songwriting as a vice to express her feelings about exploring the world. The track The Rope, for example, examines her feelings about the suicide of a distant cousin from a very religious background and the importance of staying true to one’s identity and finding something personally significant to make life meaningful. This expression allows bitter’s kiss‘ music to become deep and meaningful.
How does it sound? bitter’s kiss’ album has a beautiful indie pop sound with awesome reverb and filters placed on the vocals. These filters, at times, can be a bit much, but they give the listener something to gnaw on while digesting the music.
That being said, this music is not something that you casually put on during a run. This music is best listened to while sitting down and really digging into it.
Bottom-line, bitter’s kiss gives us a chance for self reflection through the eyes of a younger girl who is turned onto a much more profound reality than that which most of us face day to day. Chloe Baker grows as you get deeper into the album and it is a very spiritual listening experience. I highly recommend this artist and you can view their music video of The Rope below.