KiNG MALA Is Done Crying Over 'SPILT MILK'
Alt-pop songstress KiNG MALA, neé Areli Castro, is calling off her palace guards and entering her unbothered soft girl era this fall with her new EP SPILT MILK. After spending the summer protecting her peace, letting herself finally acknowledge all she's been through these past two years, she is now here to share, and although the artist may have entered her unbothered era, that doesn't mean she's cast vulnerability aside; in fact, quite the opposite.
"SPILT MILK is a project full of songs I have loved for years now," she shares. "A culmination of two years of writing and experimenting and gathering all the things I've loved into one project. It's the vault, it's all the secrets I've kept for so long."
The record opens with the dramatic and hypnotizing "gods on t.v," as mesmerizing string patterns usher in Castro's soothing vocals. She muses over fate being real, ultimately declaring, "I don't think I believe in god anymore," citing "the blood, the lust, the rot, and the gore," as a few of the reasons she has come to this conclusion. The looming instrumentation evolves with stark percussion, edgy guitar riffs, warped vocal layering, and understated bass thrums, luring listeners into the dark and frustrating world that the artist has created with diligence and mastery.
On the whirlwind "i only smoke to feel bad," KiNG MALA examines her anxiety and how drugs only worsen her mental state. She overanalyzes every interaction she's ever had as she lies awake in the middle of the night as tumbling piano riffs, guitar plucks, and bubbling samples fill the air. She compares herself to her friends and how drugs make them feel better, while for her, she gets anxious, needlessly apologizes, and goes home to watch YouTube, wondering if this endless cycle will be something she will outgrow. Feminist groove "bug" showcases the rising star's witty songwriting skills as she calmly channels her feminine rage to call out the insufferable misogynistic comments. Fiery lyrics like, "Hear me out / Maybe you should shut your mouth / You're so pretty when you talk less / Maybe mommy got to your head" leave a sonic bruise on the skin of anyone who dares look down on her.
Another standout track includes the cheeky, self-care anthem "dirty dishes." Opening with a collection of sunny vocal harmonies, nostalgia-inducing basslines, and bright, ethereal guitar chords, the laissez-faire melody combined with her breezy vocals dip into semi-dark lyrics. "Got dirty dishes in my sink / So many filthy memories / I can't even think, don't got it figured out / But you wanna come over now," she sings. She continues to share that she has to fake being in a better place mentally when expecting her love interest, confessing she feels better when they're around. In the sweet chorus, accompanied by soft keys and intensified instrumentation, she declares that she'll get her life together for the sake of her lover and that she'll "...do some things I have to do / Like call my mom and pay my bills," and she "Might even start to clean my room."
The EP's closer, "grocery store," is a trippy fever dream finale that encapsulates the overall themes of the record, with the artist specifically questioning her current reality. Amid the dissociative episodes, she shares that she feels like a stranger in her skin, unaware of what's going around her at any given moment. She elaborates, "At the very end of the project, in the outro...there is a lyric… 'they tell me don't cry over spilt milk, but it's seeping out my pores.' And I feel like that sentiment encapsulates the feeling of this project. A vulnerable, open, and almost unwilling confession of everything. Fears, crushes, disappointments, rejection, love, mundanity all of it is in here. It's a purge, a cleansing of everything …and I feel free."
With the release of SPILT MILK, KiNG MALA will head out on a string of nearly sold-out headline shows starting November 28 in Brooklyn, New York.
Listen to SPILT MILK below:
