Kiss Big is one of those albums that seems capable of meeting you wherever you happen to be emotionally. It’s music you can dance to, cry to, reflect on, or fall in love to. There’s a certain seductiveness to it, but also a vulnerability that runs through the songs.
Ailbhe Reddy moves between electronic indie pop, atmospheric rock, acoustic singer-songwriter material, and big, anthemic arrangements, creating an album that feels both intimate and expansive. There’s a timeless quality to some of the music, particularly in Reddy’s vocal delivery, which occasionally brings to mind the classic singers of the past. But she has a distinctive voice and style of her own, capable of moving from a gentle, almost conversational delivery to soaring, emotionally charged performances.
At just 34 minutes, Kiss Big moves quickly, but covers an awful lot of emotional territory. Rather than following a linear story about the end of a relationship and the process of getting over it, the album moves through different feelings and perspectives. There’s hope, regret, love, guilt, anger, frustration, longing, and eventually acceptance. Sometimes the music is dreamy and reflective; other times it has an electronic pulse. It’s a terrific combination of sounds and emotions.
The opening track, “Align,” is an interesting place to begin an album that spends so much time exploring the aftermath of relationships. Rather than starting with anger or heartbreak, Reddy approaches things from a place of acceptance. Musically, it’s a gorgeous slow build, beginning with just a few keyboard and synthesizer notes before gradually expanding. The vocal layers grow along with the arrangement, and Reddy delivers a beautiful performance that feels completely sincere.
Picking up the tempo considerably, “That Girl” brings an anthemic, danceable indie-rock sound that brings to mind Florence and the Machine. There’s a gorgeous vocal performance over urgent synths and pounding drums, and the song gradually builds toward a terrific climax. Beneath all that energy, she’s wrestling with the idea that she’s still the person someone once fell in love with, yet that person no longer sees her the same way.
“So Quickly, Baby” is a fantastic song and one of the album’s highlights. It begins with a relatively quiet, acoustic, reflective feel before the choruses explode into huge bursts of sound and emotion. The contrast captures the emotional whiplash of trying to process a breakup, moving between sadness, anger, guilt, and disbelief. The production is terrific, moving between those quieter moments and explosive choruses, while Reddy delivers one of her best vocal performances.
There’s a little more of a 90s alternative-rock sound on “Untangling.” A cool guitar part with almost a surf-rock quality sits underneath, while Reddy’s vocal occasionally brings to mind Sinéad O’Connor. The arrangement has a dreamy, slightly psychedelic quality, particularly in the outro, which opens up and lets the music stretch out. The song explores the strange freedom that comes after a relationship ends. You’ve moved on in some ways, but that doesn’t mean you’ve completely separated yourself from the person or the memories you shared.
On “Graceful Swimmer,” Reddy brings together the indie rock, pop, and electronic elements of the album in a way that brings to mind Marika Hackman’s musical approach. There’s a gentle, almost low-key dance quality to it, with little disco touches and electronic rhythms, but the overall feeling is restrained, dreamy, and reflective. The song revisits the little details and memories of a relationship, particularly those warm, happy moments. One of the more difficult parts of a breakup is that you’re not just trying to separate yourself from the hurt and disappointment, but from the love and happiness, too.
“Dead Arm” takes a sweeter, dreamier turn, with an almost beachy quality to the music. There’s some really cool guitar work here, and the arrangement has a relaxed, melodic quality that almost makes it sound like a love song. But underneath that sweetness is something considerably more complicated. Reddy explores the confusing kind of rejection where someone gives you moments of closeness and vulnerability without offering the same level of emotional commitment.
There’s a wonderfully timeless quality to “Gorgeous Thing,” both musically and in Reddy’s vocal performance. She has a beautiful way of climbing through the melody, gradually expanding her range without losing that soft, intimate quality. The drumming has a terrific Ringo-like bounce, while the swells give the song a little of that Paul McCartney & Wings quality. What begins as a relatively gentle song gradually builds into something almost theatrical, with the synths and guitars taking on an almost French-horn-like quality. Lyrically, it explores guilt, detachment, and the fear of not being able to love again.
Taking things in another direction, the title track draws on a gorgeous folk-pop sound. Reddy moves between a gentle, almost conversational delivery and moments where her voice seems to lift right off the ground. It’s a beautiful song, and one of the most emotionally affecting moments on the album. The song explores the desire for love, intimacy, and physical closeness, particularly when distance separates you from someone you care about. There’s a tremendous amount of warmth and optimism here.
The mostly spoken-word “Crave” brings the album to a beautiful close. Built around a repeating keyboard figure, the arrangement gradually grows into something much bigger. The lyrics explore love in all its different forms: the mundane details of sharing a life, the silly little habits, physical affection, sex, obsession, comfort, and the desire to be close to another person. It’s an almost complete picture of everything we want from love. As the music expands around Reddy’s words, the song becomes an increasingly moving expression of the desire to love and be loved.
Kiss Big moves through all these different emotions without trying to tie them into a neat story. It begins with acceptance and ends with an embrace of love in all its forms. Along the way, Reddy explores the anger, regret, confusion, and longing that come with the end of a relationship, but never loses sight of the things that make love worthwhile. The variety of musical styles, combined with her remarkable voice and songwriting, makes this a beautiful, emotionally resonant record.
Verdict: Masterpiece
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