Having just released her debut album, Womb, late last year, 22-year-old avant-pop singer Kate Brunotts is back once again on a new single and video with a fittingly ghastly title, “The Darkness Always Rises.” Pulling some inspiration from similarly unconventional musicians—notably Grimes, a fan of her music—Brunotts self-produces her music, notably producing all of her 2022 debut album, Womb. Her latest offering, “The Darkness Always Rises,” is a strange concoction combining several different elements from varying genres, all of which seemingly have no relation to each other, but she makes it all her own.
In just a little over two minutes, the single does more than enough to showcase Brunotts’ talents as a vocalist and producer. Undercut by hip-hop 808s and an urbano beat that gradually morphs into something gothic, Kate Brunott’s manages to creep in quite a few eerie ambient sounds atop the instrumental without ever coming off as jarring. Playing to her talents, Brunotts similarly doesn’t stay confined to one space and switches up her vocals from ghastly operatic groaning to a hushed whisper style fraught with dread that fully embraces “the dark,” as she puts it in the lyrics.
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But what really brings everything together are the subtle yet substantial ambient noises scattered all throughout the runtime. Whether that’s bending and twisting vocals in buried melodies beneath the beat or even what sounds to be mockingbird-type inflections on the chorus, there’s a lot of care and attention to a short single in comparison to previous releases.
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And that extends to more than a few other aspects that make up Brunotts’ singular voice. Especially on the design front, with the music video for “The Darkness Always Rises” bringing its cover to life. The visuals are relatively simple: Brunotts crawls against a gust of wind in the same attire and set as the single cover art. But for someone who draws from many reference points, her music spans multiple genres, and her inspirations never feel forcefully shoved together. As someone seemingly doing it all on her own, Brunotts is paving a direction all for herself.
Words: David Sosa
“The Darkness Always Rises” by Kate Brunotts is out on all streaming services. For more on new music and live shows, including a show at The Bowery Electric in NYC on July 9, follow her on Instagram, TikTok, and Bandcamp.
