Today, Philadelphia-based indie pop star Kississippi announces her sharp-tongued, transformative EP, damned if i do it for you, due out July 26. Alongside the big news, Kississippi shares the first taste of the project with the bold, whimsical “Last Time”. Plus, this July, the musician will head to the West Coast for a run of tour dates with indie rock musician talker. The tour will officially begin on July 18 in Seattle, WA and will make its way down the West Coast stopping in Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco before ending in Los Angeles on July 26. A full list of tour dates can be found below and tickets are on sale now via kissys.world/tour. The forthcoming project sees the artist reckon with past and present pain as she carves a path forward that celebrates who she is today through splashy, striking production, evocative vocals and her own distinct brand of heart-wrenching punky pop.
Over four tracks, damned if i do it for you is an unrelenting exploration into the heart. Reuniting with 2021’s magnetic effort Mood Ring producer Andy Park (Future Teens, Death Cab For Cutie), Kississippi found her stride again, only this time, with fresh life experiences to draw from and a newfound sense of self. When she felt stuck while writing, she brought her drafts to Dan Campbell (The Wonder Years, Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties) for workshopping, then brought those drafts to Illuminati Hotties’ own Sarah Tudzin (boygenius, Speedy Ortiz) and Maddie Ross for finishing touches and studio time. The seeds of “Bird Song” also came together during that time and ultimately sprouted with Park. The EP’s centerpiece, “Jesus Freak,” is an anthemic guitar-pop track that is bright, celebratory, anxious, and, most importantly, composed cathartically; her command of tension and release is stronger than ever.
To Kississippi, the collection is “a journey of introspection, peeling back all of your layers and searching for the love that you’ve always dreamed of within yourself. It’s a battle to find bliss in solitude, while you’re still healing from the wounds of a shattered heart. Along the way, it uncovers truths about identity and grapples with whether or not the imperfections you’ve found can be transformed into something beautiful. It’s a path to self-discovery and growth, as you navigate the complexities of self-love and acceptance.”
“Last Time,” came about after a run-in with an ex-partner at a gig and the heartache that ensued. Kississippi recalls, “As I took the stage with only a drum machine and mic, it hit me that I was essentially doing karaoke to these songs about unrequited love, knowing that the person I wrote them about was in the next room with someone else.” It’s a playful, defiant goodbye that demands to be looped by the listener. “Last Time” is about realizing someone you love has moved on before you know it, and the irony of having to do it live, in front of an audience.”
Kississippi Summer Tour 2024
with talker
Jul. 18 – Seattle, WA – Funhouse
Jul. 19 – Portland, OR – Kelly’s Olympian
Jul. 20 – Sacramento, CA – Russ Room
Jul. 25 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
Jul. 26 – Los Angeles, CA – Permanent Records Roadhouse
Zoe Reynolds, who performs as Kississippi, began releasing music with her first official release in 2015– the widely loved EP, We Have No Future, We’re All Doomed. Since then, the playful and poignant singer-songwriter has shared an additional two albums with indie rock debut Sunset Blush in 2018 and Mood Ring in 2021. The musician has supported a slew of established acts across the globe from Dashboard Confessional to Kevin Devine and 2023’s The Greatest Generation Tour with The Wonder Years. Kississippi has captivated several leading tastemakers across the country ever since, including Pitchfork, Billboard, WXPN’s World Cafe, Stereogum’s coveted Band To Watch and more. Pitchfork wrote Mood Ring includes a, “blissful shimmer,” and says, “In these moments of imperfection, when Reynolds reveals some rust among the gold, she is most luminous.”
Over glittering synths and masterful lyricism painting splashy portraits of the human condition, Kississippi brilliantly blends being cheeky and profound–dance-cry anthems that never quite age. The artist only continues to blaze an incredibly mesmerizing path forward–one that is all her own and proudly embraces who she is today, never missing the opportunity to throw a banger or two in the mix. Today, Kississippi prepares to expand the rich, vibrant world she’s built with previous projects, only now, more assured than ever before as the artist embraces imperfections and finds true self-love.
Kississippi Bio
Punk-informed pop musician Kississippi is back with damned if I do it for you, an EP that refers to a recurring experience songwriter Zoe Reynolds has faced in her adult relationships, trying to navigate romantic, friendly, and professional relationships in earnest and making them work without the necessary safeguards. “Smaller Half” charts the aftereffects of those arrangements, visiting Zoe in a moment where she admits she doesn’t know who she is anymore without her counterpart, even if she knows she’s better off. “Last Time” recounts witnessing an ex-partner romantically at the gig with someone new, the ensuing heartbreak, and a sense of resignation: she knew what she was getting into by going to that gig. What could she expect?
EP centerpiece “Jesus Freak” marks Zoe’s full-fledged embrace of guitar pop, a direction she’s explored before, but never with this level of commitment. Centered on a fictional love story with some echoes from her life, “Jesus Freak” explores the gloom-lifting experience of obsession with a new counterpart, making ample room for anticipation and passion. It’s bright, celebratory, anxious, and, most importantly, composed cathartically; her command of tension and release is stronger than ever. “Bird Song” fittingly takes a birds-eye view of Zoe’s mind and circumstances as she wrote the EP, a mentally strenuous period of negotiating past hurts, new pains, reverberating mistakes, and the need to forge ahead. You can connect with Kississippi via the following links. Photo credit: Brooke Marsh. Bio taken from press release.
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