Katy Kirby Releases Honest New Single ‘Headlights’

New York-based singer-songwriter Katy Kirby has long mastered the art of reflecting the nuances of intimacy through her understated and intimate style of indie rock. Her album ‘Blue Raspberry’, released in January this year, daringly showcased her honest and emotional song-writing, unravelling her deepest thoughts on love and relationships in a way that was honest, thought-provoking, and musically complete.

Her new single, ‘Headlights’ is a track that didn’t make it onto her most recent album, but despite Kirby's often romantic gestures in hits like ‘Eyelids’ and ‘Cool Dry Place’, 'Headlights’ explores a bratty style of indie rock that’s evidently developed in recent years. 

The track weaves between Kirby’s signature guitar trinkets and folk-like ruminations, extending this time with a gritty chord structure that chugs throughout the verses. As the track transitions into the chorus, we encounter Kirby’s familiar nervous musical sensibility, this time above the battling sound of distorted guitars. The track's casual pace allows us to savour Kirby’s wonderful lyricism, with standout lines like, “She blinds me with science / I can’t look away”. Kirby proves once again that her song-writing is as much a retelling of her own experiences as a blatantly unimaginative form of musical expression. 

Throughout the nearly four-minute track, Kirby wrestles with the various ways we acknowledge the ones we love or the ones we learn to hate, and her ability to portray such hurt so fondly is testament to her song-writing ability. Recently signed to ANTI-Records, alongside fellow understated musicians like Cass McCombs and Astral K, ‘Headlights’ signals the maturity of a sound that continues to blossom into a world of its own.

Ewan Bourne

Image: ‘Blue Raspberry' Official Album Cover

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