"The Heart of the Nightlife" by Kisses - Album Review

This week I have felt like this album. Happy and sad, enthusiastic about life and experiences, and yet loathing life’s little practical jokes all at the same time. It’s all here in the music I’m listening to right now. It’s a debut album title and artist name that reads like a valentine, Heart of the Nightlife by Kisses. The enthusiasm comes from the thump of the disco beat that makes your heart feel like it’s strutting as sexy as John Travolta. I think you know what scene I’m talking about. The first track on the album “Kisses” is a cake batter of disco bass lines, catchy hand claps, electro drum machine, indie dance synth and a sad-yearning-for-you-but-I’m-a-fuck up lyrics. A lot to take in but that’s what it is.

Recorded in his garage somewhere in Los Angeles, Jesse Kivel has a voice that sounds a bit like Morrissey. It comes off strange, deep, and innocent. “Bermuda” is catchy and sounds like the next car-commercial-song-turned-hot-single. The lyrics of “On the Move” are very personal and everyone’s theme song at some point. It’s one of those; it’s so hard to be vulnerable in person, so I’m going to post this online and hope you listen to it and know this is how I feel songs. Oh don’t pretend like you haven’t done that before! Go ahead heartbroken lovers, find it, post it and wait for the response. You know you want too! The track “The Heart of the Nightlife” has a heart beat rhythm layered in there which is pretty cool, but for the most part it gets lost in what sounds like any club mix that you never remember. By track six I’m kind of bored as it’s all starting to sound the same and I’m easily able to drift away forcing myself to pay attention to the music. But that doesn’t mean you won’t like it. Ugh … you can tell what a struggle it is for me to say anything negative about music creators or artists in general. Okay enough. Check out some tracks here and review/experience/dig it for yourself.

Album experience by: Roxanne Hilburn