I seem to be picking up pop pieces recently. Lucky for me, I'm picking up quality commercial-standard work like this one, B O K E H's new single Simple Little Things. About wanting to open up and wear one's heart on one's sleeve but being afraid of what might come from doing so, it's an almost whimsical look into one's insecurities and fears that cripple our ability to expose ourselves emotionally. Almost, because there's a stark, bare production to this song that makes it ache with an intangible desire for the singer to make it sweet: to make us "better". This is art pop.

The bare production is vaguely Lorde-like, but vocalist Chloe Lewer (from the great city of Wellington) has a less ethereal, more gutsy tone. This lends itself to the mood it portrays. I don't have too much info about the location and engineers involved other than it's self-produced.

B O K E H is based in Berlin, and her upcoming album, which this is the second promo single from, is due in July 2023. Title for the album is Room 42. Simple Little Things is supported vocally by Berlin-based Ruuth, and Canadian rapper Lex Leosis.

While the single is well-thought out, produced and crafted, the video - shot in Montreal, Canada - is easy to follow, to the point of the storyline and contains just the right amount of minor abstract distractions to stop it becoming a very short soundtrack clip. It's good, while not being spectacular, however we get to see the performers themselves - and they are very interesting, compelling looking people who you see and want to say hi to across tables in a central Wellington coffee shop. Not dissing the vid; it does its job very well.

If this is the calibre of the upcoming album, and you're a fan of thoughtful, introspective pop with a definite commercial bite, this is for you. I'll be keeping an eye out for album release. I hope someone here in NZ is in place to provide the commercial radio support this deserves. Five stars.

Game bites, fatal strikes, we lie on the Wild Side.

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  The Veils @ Totara St, Mt Maunganui - 23/03/2023

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