NIKI Teases Forthcoming Album 'Buzz' With the Nostalgia-Invoking "Too Much Of A Good Thing"
Photo: courtesy of NIKI
Pop singer NIKI is creating a stir with her latest single, 'Too Much Of A Good Thing." This track, which will feature on her upcoming album Buzz, set to release August 9, is a departure from her usual softer R&B-pop sound and a testament to her versatility. Throughout this alluring track, she navigates the fragile balance between desire and self-preservation, capturing the rollercoaster of emotions accompanying budding romance with sincere lyrics and soulful vocals.
The flirty new track is infused with biting, honest lyrics that effortlessly convey the feelings of having a new crush. Set to sinewy, grooving bass guitar riffs and steady, funk-inspired rhythms, NIKI starts by professing, "Well, you look like you're gonna break my heart / And I look like a tough shot in the dark on a good day." She reflects on the vulnerability of falling in love, questioning in the chorus whether there can ever be "too much of a good thing," the song weaves a story of the complexities of relationships, with NIKI refusing to shy away from the intensity of her feelings.
"'Too Much Of A Good Thing' is this fun, tongue-in-cheek song about desire, imagination, and the playground of excitement and irreverence they create. It's about that initial anticipation we all know and love where there's a little extra pep in your step, which I feel translates even sonically, with that timeless, stroll-along-to-the-tempo groove you get when you are momentarily invincible," says NIKI. "I wrote it with my very talented friend Ethan Gruska when I was listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles, and it was one of the earliest ideas that catalyzed the rest of this album."
With the release of the new single, NIKI also released a stunning black-and-white music video shot on 16mm film. The visual follows the artist as she sings throughout the streets of NYC on a sunny day, passing the people and the bustling streets with her head in the clouds as she thinks about her potential new love interest.
On Buzz, her songwriting remains as intimate as ever. In her initial sketches of songs for Buzz, NIKI took cues from other lane-paving women with confessional, honest lyricism soundtracked by guitars. "Joni Mitchell is my songwriting north star," she says — in addition to uncompromising feminist luminaries like Stevie Nicks, Carly Simon, and Liz Phair. NIKI cultivated her elastic approach to guitar playing to match Buzz's wandering spirit.
Watch the "Too Much Of A Good Thing" video below: