Allow us to reintroduce you to a budding voice within indie-rock: Superfan (f.k.a. KALI) is the project of singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Kali Flanagan. With the release of his latest single “For You,” he’s not only adopted a new moniker but continues challenging any attempts to pigeonhole his sound. Fans looking to catch Superfan live are also in luck as part of his reintroduction comes a three-night residency which kicks off tonight at Gold Diggers in Los Angeles on Apr. 18, with two more performances on May 23 and Jun. 20.
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Wielding fuzzed-out guitars and sonically frantic electronica, “For You” retains all the brash emotionality that has made his previous two EPs such riveting listens. But it also highlights his music’s vast evolutions since he first started fiddling with Garageband. A decision that led him to take a self-taught DIY approach that would lead him to both produce and play all the instruments on his tracks himself. In “For You” Superfan emerges once more with their raucously emotional and sonically ecstatic music. Blending together their love of jutting riffs overlayed atop one another in a clamor that’s made all the more ethereal by the twisted cries and wails that cut through the background.
“‘For You’ is a song about being fed up with the feeling of overcompensation in any kind of relationship,” Superfan explained. “I made the song over a couple days as an outlet for my frustrations with not only other people but myself for being passive in my own emotional narrative.”
His debut EP Circles leaned heavily into these jubilant blends of dreamy electronica streaked by heavy riffs that served to uplift his lovelorn and openhearted lyricism: opening track “Back to the Start” and “I Just Wanna” are two gems amidst six stellar jams that vigorously push the edges of indie-rock with their delightfully electrifying and nebulous soundscapes. Taking cues from the EPs album cover — which features a turned Flanagan looking like they’re mid-dance — its beaming energy and raw melancholy make it the kind of music you can simultaneously dance and cry to.
Superfan’s second EP arrived in the form Maltman and Effie just last year. And if you thought their debut was boundlessly eclectic then their sophomore release upped the ante quite a bit. On the heart-aching “Flem,” they traverse sweeping sonics shifts that carry themselves via soaring harmonies and the slow-burn crescendo of grumbling guitars and shrieking vocals; while punchy rhythms and incandescent riffs cut through the warbling melodies of “Addicted” to punctuate their determination to break off a relationship that’s become a bad habit. On the EPs final track “I Hope You Hate Me,” Superfan revels in this bleakly paced affirmation of the pain endured and scars retained from the fallout of an emotionally violent end to a relationship. It’s this measured capacity to trace with such an intimately honest understanding the wounds of the and then soundtrack them with their sonic translations.
See Superfan at Gold Diggers in Los Angeles Apr. 18! This is the first night of their residency at the venue as they will also be playing two more shows there on May 23 and Jun. 20.
Visit Superfan on their Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Superfan residency
4/18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers
5/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers
6/20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers
Words: Steven Ward
Listen to “For You” the new single from Superfan below!
