There’s something eerily intriguing about the cover of Ky Vöss’ ‘Space Cadet’ album. A nearly sheer blueish, greenish, greyish piece of fabric covers their face while a tin foil crown adorns their head. Without doing any research into Ky or their background, I knew I wanted to check this album out tonight. I was feeling adventurous, feeling the need for something new and different and, although I really had no clue what I was going to get when I pressed play, I had a gut feeling saying that this was going to be something interesting and probably just what I needed tonight.
“Tiny Words” kicks this album off and instantly I knew that going with my gut was the right choice. A solid bass line starts off the song before Ky’s voice and other various electronic sounds come in. Synthpop meets darkwave meets any great dance track, although it was a sleepy Monday night after a pretty slow day at the day job, the sounds that filled my house with this first track was just what I needed to power through the night without falling asleep at a ridiculously early hour.
The second track to fill my house, “Power Trip” was an instant favorite of mine. There was something infectious about this song while a sense of mystique and almost creepiness. Ky’s voice starts as an almost snarled whisper before gradually becoming more and more intense. A little breakdown just shows the intense side of Ky Vöss. Although at times their voice comes off as powerful and almost “hear me roar”, there’s some underlying passion in it that I just couldn’t quite put my finger on but this song was a perfect example of whatever that was. Although there are a million interesting things going on with the industrial like instrumentation, Ky’s voice never falls from the spotlight and, even when it wasn’t there throughout this song, that voice was stuck in my head.
“Picking Locks” starts off beautifully with a cascading sound of keys before an almost frantic bass (or synth) sound comes in and turns the beauty into an almost lo-fi dance hit. Although all of the tracks on this quick album made me want to move along to the beat and I constantly found my toe tapping whether I wanted it to or not, “Picking Locks” has something comforting and warm about it. It could be the effects put on the vocals or the soundscape that the instrumentation creates. Regardless, I loved the energy I got from this track.
The comfort given off in “Picking Locks” is completely turned on its head as the album rolls onto “Hunger Pain”. That sense of comfort was instantly replaced with a sense of aggression. It’s not the in-your-face type of aggression that I typically seek out in my metal music but there’s no denying the intensity that this track brings to the table. Still dark and intriguing, “Hunger Pain” has something a bit boomier about it while not going to the dark side. Just when I was getting used to the darkness, “Convince Me” changes the mood again to something a bit more playful and a bit brighter while still staying in the dark realm that Ky Vöss does so well. The perfect balance of all of the elements going on with the instrumentation against the vocals is impressive to say the least. With so many sounds happening at once, things should feel more chaotic and disorganized but Ky makes it clear that they know just what they’re doing and they are damn good at doing it.
“Industrialize” follows its name perfectly. It brings an industrial undertone to the forefront. It’s an element in this album that can be heard throughout but always seems to be a bit hidden in the background… until now. Although my industrial music days were short lived, my love for bands like The Birthday Massacre is still in me somewhere and listening to “Industrialize” really brought it out in me.
Just when you thought you heard it all on this album, “Shelter” starts playing and brings even more to the table from this talented musician. There’s something a bit more sweet and innocent about this track compared to the darkness on the previous songs. That being said, there’s no mistaking who wrote or performed this song. It’s crazy how different each track on this quick eight song album is while still clearly being a song from Ky Vöss.
Finishing up this amazing journey of ‘Space Cadet’ is “Swallow The Batteries”. This track closes out the album with a bang that had me dancing around my house like a damn fool. I don’t quite know how to explain it but this song comes off as super happy-go-lucky. Maybe it’s the pumping beat that catapults the track forward or maybe it’s Ky’s always intriguing vocals, regardless, I listened to this track a couple of times before moving back to the beginning to start the album all over again.
I’m not typically one for electronic drenched beats or such an industrial undertone but Ky Vöss does it all so well. They bridge gaps between various music genres without hesitation. ‘Space Cadet’ is one of those albums for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re a metal head, a top-40 kind of person, or an indie-rocker. There are elements throughout this quick album that everyone will fall in love with all wrapped together
My Favorite Track(s): “Power Trip”; “Swallow The Batteries”
For Fans Of: Surprisingly ear-wormy music; Industrial undertones; Toe-Tapping
Dance-ability: 9.8 out of 10
What My Cats Thought Of It: Artie laid with his head in his food bowl; Autumn laid on the back of the couch in the sun
How Badly I Want To See This Performed Live: 9.6 out of 10
My Overall Rating: 8.2 out of 10
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