Whitney Whitney Debuts Her Cinematic Universe with "Does the Narcissist Need A Kiss?"
Photo by Oswaldo Cepeda
It’s a momentous Friday in new music, but make sure you leave room for Whitney Whitney’s incredible debut, “Does the Narcissist Need A Kiss?”
Unveiling her first single today, Whitney Whitney is a songwriter fit for fans of Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, and anything cinematic. “Does the Narcissist Need A Kiss?” unfolds with an intimate piano and vocal pairing. Warm and roaming, the piano flows freely, while Whitney’s vocals – left untouched by the echoes of reverb – sit so close to the listener, that it feels like a private performance.
As Whitney Whitney leans into intensity, the arrangement responds. A phasing guitar blossoms up on both ends of the mix, while strings swell in congruence to the explosive melody of the chorus. Whitney soars through high notes, tapping into a clean, clear, and impressive range. There’s pizzicato strings infusing the track with a quickening heartbeat, giving the song the coming-of-age soundtrack moment it deserves. Whitney Whitney shared with us the inspiration behind creating “Does the Narcissist Need A Kiss?”:
“I woke up from a dream about writing a diss track about someone I used to know, and then actually wrote down what I remembered. Somehow, it turned into a poetic, cinematic, unpredictable song that is going to kick off my whole project.”
The song is accompanied by a breathtaking visualizer – film grain mingling with vivid yellows and greens to provide the perfect landscape for an otherworldly love affair. It has a Twilight Zone surrealism to it, analog and sci-fi, but also empowering and intimate. For its premiere, Whitney Whitney said:
"This visualizer shows me interacting with an ominous shadow figure who portrays the subject of the song. It represents how a person can become disturbing in your mind after time."
A show-stopping debut, Whitney Whitney is undoubtedly one we will be watching. Listen to "Does the Narcissist Need A Kiss?” and check out the visualizer!