MUSIC PREMIERES
For a music fan, there really is no greater cachet than being able to say: “I knew them before they blew up”. It’s the thrumming feeling that permeates every sweaty, cramped gig venue when an audience can see, in real-time, that they’ll never get to see this artist in a space this small again.
That’s the vibe at indigo at The O2, the small 2,000-capacity room sitting literally in the shadow of London’s most coveted arena space. It’s here that NME Cover stars KISS OF LIFE – made up of Julie, Natty, Belle and Haneul – proclaim that, whatever happens next, we are the “OG KISSYs” (the name given to their fandom). Everyone in the room knows the venue’s intimate proximity is about to become a real bragging right.
Despite a shaky start – the quartet hit the stage 30 minutes late – all is forgotten when the quartet pull out their black sunglasses and get in formation for their viral hit ‘Igloo’’s now-iconic TikTok challenge choreography. Screams erupt so loud you can barely hear the song’s low-key soundscape, which can be expected for a tour that’s light on production value.
Though K-pop is known for its visual overstimulation, KISS OF LIFE’s first world tour is a stripped-back affair with only a black stage and a couple of side-of-stage screens for decoration. There are a few teething problems as a result, like a moment where the group go off stage for a costume change, leaving an awkward, silent intermission. But that bareness also allows their vocals and performance to shine, and they have both of them in spades.
They’re as comfortable twerking to songs (‘My 808’) as they are sitting with handheld mics for ballads (‘Nothing’). The moment where they sing an as-yet-unreleased song called ‘Wine House’, a ’90s-infused R&B track reminiscent of groups like En Vogue and TLC, is a standout because there’s a palpable sense of confidence that’s usually inhibited by being so exposed on stage.
Sexy is a term that hangs around KISS OF LIFE like a mist. It’s infused in their song choices and choreo. “That song is so sexy, right?” Julie purrs after they sing the scintillating ‘Chemistry’ to whoops and hollers. But if there is any knee-jerk concern that comes with seeing four women focus on sexuality in their performance, especially in an industry where questionable ethics around young female idols feels front and centre for so many, the foursome make sure to let fans know they’re in on the bit.
They hone in on that tongue-in-cheek vibe for ‘Te Quiero’, where the group bring one fan from the crowd on stage for the most up-close and personal show of their lives. The quartet dance as a unit but then also give solos, with some members climbing over the fan like a sexy striptease. Seeing them take hold of their sexuality and funnel it to one person rather than a mass feels like an allegory for autonomy – they’re the ones holding it and they get to decide what they do with it.
As they say their goodbyes, the room vibrates to the point that the camera beaming their image onto the screens at the side of the stage can’t focus and becomes a fuzzy mess. Though the concert hits the beats any seasoned K-pop fan would expect, KISS OF LIFE pull off something unplannable: they leave you wanting more. Thankfully, it seems like they want to keep giving us more, too.
‘Bad News’
‘Igloo’
‘Get Loud’
‘Wine House’
‘Chemistry’
‘TTG’
‘Nobody Knows’
‘Gentleman’
‘Te Quiero’
‘My 808’
‘Nothing’
‘Sticky’
‘Midas Touch’
‘Shhh’
‘Bye My Neverland’
‘No One But Us’
‘Back To Me’
MUSIC PREMIERES
Lykke Li didn’t hold back when speaking about the making of her sixth studio album, ‘The Afterparty’, during a listening session in Los Angeles earlier this year. “Let’s talk about the album. It was a motherfucker to make,” she admitted to the crowd. While balancing motherhood, the chaos of modern culture shaped by Trump and AI, and her own desire to create something more “extroverted, impulsive and chaotic” than ‘EYEYE’, as she previously shared with NME, the Swedish alt pop star arrived at a headspace that “feels like it’s 4am and the sun is going to rise”. The record captures that blurry final moment before regret, exhaustion and reality settle in, which makes it even more emotional considering she has hinted this could potentially be her final album.
There is something fitting about how brief the project feels. With only nine tracks running across 24 minutes, it never overstays its welcome. Lykke immediately drops listeners into the atmosphere with opener ‘Not Gon Cry’, painting a picture of those lonely early morning hours with the line, “No angels here tonight, no dancing queens.” Alongside the shadowy pulse of ‘Happy Now’ and the twisted disco energy of ‘Lucky Now’, she revisits the emotional yet dance driven spirit of her earlier material while blending in the sharper, more confident attitude heard on ‘So Sad, So Sexy’ and the shimmering influence of her 2019 Mark Ronson collaboration ‘Late Night Feelings’.
The emotional fallout begins to settle in quickly. ‘Famous Last Words’ carries a lush orchestral sadness as Lykke reflects on lessons that only came after years of chaos and late nights, confessing, “I had to crash and burn to tell the tale.” Then comes ‘Future Fear’, a delicate acoustic track with robotic textures that stares directly into anxiety and uncertainty with the chilling question, “I’m going to a dark place, do you need anything?” Meanwhile, ‘So Happy I Could Die’ glows like sunrise after a sleepless night, holding onto fleeting moments as she sings about “slipping through the hourglass”.
Throughout the album, Lykke Li vividly captures the beauty and wreckage of reckless nights with the vulnerability that has always defined her music. On ‘Sick Of Love’, she channels heartbreak into revenge, wanting to “make you beg for it” after rejection in a way that feels spiritually connected to Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’. One of the strongest moments arrives with ‘Knife In The Heart’, a track that fully embraces her desire to become the “rock god” and “fuck boy” she spoke about, firing back at anyone who tries to tear her down with the words “you can spit, you can walk on me” while delivering one of the catchiest songs she has created in years.
Closing track ‘Euphoria’ leaves behind the same bittersweet feeling that runs through the rest of the album. With sweeping strings, pulsing beats and emotional intensity, Lykke Li reminds listeners that nothing lasts forever as she sings, “Player play your song, waste the night away”. Like the fading energy of the perfect night out, ‘The Afterparty’ ends in a haze of beauty and uncertainty. If this truly is her farewell, she leaves with one final intoxicating statement, though it still feels like there could be another chapter waiting.
