While we were aware of Kat Von D the media personality and knew of occasional work with one of our favorite Electro artists, IAMX, we had no idea what we’d be in store for when we dove into My Side Of The Mountain, D’s latest full-length. But with an open mind we dove in… and the end result was like nothing we could’ve imagined.
As we said, we had NO idea what we’d be getting into when we pressed “play” on the follow-up to 2021’s Love Made me Do It never mind the fact that we would like it as much as we do (Like, kinda almost already in our “Tops of ’24” list levels of “like”). And the highest compliment in our book? When we purchase a physical copy of the record even though we already have a digital copy. Which we did.
Anyway, My Side Of The Mountain is some of the finest modern Electro and Darkwave we’ve heard with sonic nods to the aforementioned IAMX as well as underground gems like Glaare and Strvngers with an Artpop-like gloss. “Dead” is just the start and even this little inkling offers a hearty taste of the coolness that’s to come with every new track offering a new and exciting aural adventure with this one particularly channeling Strvngers and “Heathens” by Twenty One Pilots before becoming something even more otherworldly. “Vampire Love” is sexy in that The Hunger kind of way where you can picture both David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve’s characters strutting down the runway as this blares in the background with Kat’s sultry delivery enchanting over the speakers while “H.A.T.E.” is the one that really brings the Artpop feels out for us on a pulsating Pop number with a huge chorus.
“Truth In Reverse” is big on beats and synthetic ecstasy and a surefire dance floor favorite complete with a throw your hands up in the air and sway ethereal chorus, “Set Myself On Fire” is a BPM junkie’s fantasy, and “I Am A Machine” caps off this trinity of Tech Noir sonic finesse with Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz offering a monstrous vocal performance to counterpoint Kat’s angelic soar. “Interlude II” is a humming Electronic slowburn with “Running Away” accentuating the mood and bringing about a slower, somber piano-driven tone and then “Illusion” is a propulsive New Wave Electro romp as the vibrant vibes of “With You” uplift and may cause uncontrollable undulations (So be careful where you listen). Latest single “Por Ti” (Translated to “For You”) is a synthetic Spanish sung soliloquy that sings ahead of a sobering rendition of Eric Carmen’s “All By Myself” to end the album.
My Side Of The Mountain is out now! You can head here to order/save your copy and then here, here, and here for the latest news in the world of Kat Von D like the just announced US tour dates which includes a stop at The Strand Ballroom on December 4th!