Among the chaos of ordinary life, there are fleeting periods of time that can be referred to as “soft moments.” While they can be hard to define, they’re easy to feel, and you always know when you’re in them. If you’re ever having trouble recalling the underscored ecstasy of these moments, the memory is one listen away. Alt-pop artist Kevitch’s newest EP Secrets feels as fragile as the spontaneity of life’s soft moments; the project should be labeled to listeners as to “handle with care.” Featuring singles “Secrets” and “IDC,” the Chill Vibes designation of the music holds true but sells short the depth of the song’s included. Accompanying single “Sunshine” begins with a levity that quickly develops into a thick veil of watery emotions: “Stay up late, catch a vibe / You fool me once, I’ll say goodbye / You don’t even need to try,” she sings on the track’s only verse. Brisk but emotional, Kevitch explains the track as “that feeling when you’re in that honeymoon phase of a relationship, where you’re on a love high, and that nothing can bring you down. You don’t care what’s coming next, you’re just living in that present high.” These are the moments.
While there is a romantic tint to each song on Secrets, the EP also sounds eerily somber at times. Looming over every high is the inevitability of a come-down, and it is the weight of an ending that seems to secretly haunt Kevitch. “Don’t Let Go,” a song emblematic of commitment, the soft nature of Kevitch’s voice invokes the aforementioned fragility of the concept. While easy to be entranced in its gentle caress, her voice casts a shadow that suggests possible doom. The common saying goes you can’t lose something you never had, but the truly worrisome position is that you can always lose something you do have. Kevitch’s voice embodies this dilemma even if unintentionally.
In a press release for the EP, Kevitch explained her excitement for the project is in part due to her ability to incorporate different genres. The most sonically distinctive track on Secrets is the yaeow-assisted “Hate Me,”, a song that obsesses over the lack of closure left by the dissolution of a relationship. A perfectly complementary duet, the two artists lament with an energy that stands out among preceding tracks. In Kevitch’s press statement, she shared that Secrets “has a magical and hopeful feeling.” While those moments certainly exist, Secrets is full of the unspoken truths and fears of a relationship, a secrecy that is well-trusted in Kevitch.