Kaiyah Mercedes walks us though new album Trying To Hate You
Indie-pop artist Kaiyah Mercedes has just released her sophomore Album Trying To Hate You, and has walked us though it, track-by-track:
The End
This album is a story that begins with the end. It starts with this longing, pain and unknowingness that is so magnetic, overwhelming and unforgettable. That feeling you get when you think the world will end without that one person you love. This was the first pop song I ever made and it opens the album so well.
Digging Graves (feat. L.i.E)
This song is about trying to bury a love in the earth, in an attempt to get rid of the feelings you hold for another person. L.i.E, an amazing Gold Coast artist and a friend of mine, features on the track and her haunting vocals just bring the track to life alongside the sounds of shovels and dirt which are used as percussion.
Painkillers
Painkillers is a metaphor about the strength of love and the inability for a person to just move on as the feelings are so powerful. It is the shortest song on the album and arguably the darkest track too. It uses cool effects like the sound of pills scattering on the floor and opening a bottle of painkillers.
Salvation
This was the first track that I wrote for the album back in 2021 and it honestly guided the theme for the album as a whole – longing, unrequited love and confusion. The cool production takes you places that you sometimes don’t expect and you almost never predict what you’re going to hear next, which makes me love this song so so much. It’s so deep and emotional but the drums really take you to different places.
Falling Is Fatal
This song feels like something out of a highschool coming of age film because that’s almost what the lyrics convey – a highschool love. But, the song makes you feel like you’re actively falling. By the final chorus the lyricism weighs heavily on the fact that falling for someone is not always an easy experience.
If We Never Speak Again
I was so excited to put together a song that takes the form of a voicemail which is exactly what this song was born from. It feels like a confession, while at the same time pulling you into a whirlwind of a bridge which mimics the anxiety and confusion that comes from not knowing if someone will reply to your message, or even hear it at all. It’s cool and chaotic production makes it a favourite of mine on the album.
How To Get Over You
This is arguably the saddest song on this album, and maybe one of the saddest songs I have ever written. I co-wrote this song with Francesca De Valence and we really just put all of my deepest thoughts into lyrics. The production sounds like you’re walking through a forest and makes you feel and visualise so many things – like you’re experiencing this journey with me.
Trying To Hate You
The title track for the whole album perfectly encapsulates all of the things this album is about. Again, co-written with Francesca De Valence, the lyricism and pop-production is the perfect blend, and gives the song a hint of irony. It’s a really fun-sounding song that spins a sad song in a different way.
Cinema Girl
This song ends the album with a hopeful note that gives up on trying to get over an unrequited love. To me, it’s about the beauty of loving someone else whether the romance is reciprocated or not, and taking comfort in the small things that create light in the dark. Life is still beautiful either way and the happiness in this song overpowers the longing and sadness of the unrequited love.
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