LA pop singer-songwriter Halo Kitsch first learned how to play the piano at a young age and started writing playful songs that reverberated throughout her family house. That gave her the outlet to express herself as she grew older and during dark patches, she was able to find some succor in penning her deepest thoughts. After about three years in college, she decided to drop out and chase her musical career, working three jobs between several studio sessions with longtime collaborator Ben Zelico. The duo's chemistry is undeniable and it was a no-brainer for them to work together on Halo's latest 6-track EP entitled With You (In Mind).
The project is a heartfelt tribute to her best friend Jillian who passed away in January. Cohesive yet diverse, and with a clear message, Halo is deep, detailed, and intimate across these six songs, as she tackles subjects such as substance abuse, addiction, sobriety, codependency, promiscuity, sexuality, depression, and loss in the most brutally honest, intentional, and deliberate way she could – made possible only by her own sobriety.
It kicks off with the introspective hard-hitting record "hollywood *starlette" which explores personal struggles, pain, fame and the craziness that surrounds her."Everything I Have In My Life" has a moody guitar-arrangement and warm vibes that sees Halo detailing living a life that is not her own and its effects on her mental health. This is followed by the brooding "Daddy’s Girl" and the tribute song "Jillian". The former is a punchy rock tune that dives into mental health and her experience watching a loved one go through the wringer. The latter is s emotional as they come and it's a heartfelt ballad that is throbbing with the pain of loss and titled after her late best friend. Over the sombre guitar and string progression, Halo pours her heart on wax as she reflects on the struggles her late friend faced.
She closes out the EP with "My Heart (Might Need Stitches)" and "No Money & No Friends". These tracks explore being strong with a manipulative partner and her own personal troubles with depression and substance abuse. respectively. Overall, the records run the gamut of sounds, taking elements from '90s grunge rock with a dark experimental pop twist and profoundly relatable and delicate topics that many of her peers shy away from but it's definitely worth talking about.
