Track by Track is our recurring feature series in which artists guide readers through each song on a release. Today, Rainbow Kitten Surprise lead vocalist Ela Melo digs into each song on the band’s lengthy new album.
It’s been quite a while since Rainbow Kitten Surprise released new music — the group’s last full-length project was 2018’s How To: Friend, Love, Freefall. You’d never know such a gap existed, though, from the sold-out crowd at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl on May 6th, gathering a few days ahead of the release of the band’s new album, Love Hate Music Box. “Welcome back, RKS!” was the common refrain between songs.
At 22 songs, Love Hate Music Box is a lengthy effort and the reality is that the members of RKS simply had a lot to say. “It’s kind of like a re-branding for us,” shares guitarist and vocalist Bozzy Keller.
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Ahead of the evening’s concert, lead vocalist Ela Melo sits down with Consequence to talk through each song on Love Hate Music Box, bright red lipstick lingering on her coffee cup. For her, the album comes down to the age-old balance between love and hate.
“They’re not just in our brains, or even in our emotions,” she explains. “They’re a tangible force — as tangible as gravity or electromagnetic energies. They’re real physical forces, and they run the universe.”
As fans patiently wait for fresh music from the band, Ela also makes note of the current state of online conversation — and it’s a sentiment she later echoes onstage at Brooklyn Bowl.
“I think there’s a place for all of it. If you hate it, you hate it — now let’s talk why. If you love it, you love it — let’s talk why,” she says. “The ‘why’ is way more important to me than a compliment. So regardless of what people are saying about it, what I’m saying is, ‘Thank you for listening to my music.’”
Stream Love Hate Music Box below, and read on for Ela’s Track by Track breakdown of each song on the album.