Released: 2024
Label: Major Recordings/Warner Records
Pop music aficionados, welcome to our captivating exploration into Kenya Grace’s studio album, “The After Taste”. This album, released in 2024 under the reputable Major Recordings/Warner Records label, begs for a deeper, yearning study. Kenya Grace, with her distinct voice that echoes raw power and vulnerability, took the pop scene by storm and this album is no exception.
“The After Taste” masterfully blends diverse sonics, veering between vivacious dance anthems to pained love ballads. From the intoxicating rhythmic flurry of “My Baby Loves to Dance” to the somber reflections voiced in “It’s not fair”, this album is a genre-bending masterpiece. It houses a palette of emotions that Kansas-born Kenya channels through her compelling storytelling and impressive vocal range.
Indeed, “The After Taste” mapped a pivotal moment in Kenya Grace’s career, underlining her capabilities to maintain pop’s infectious gloss while embracing profound emotional resonance. It’s no wonder that it managed to cement her position as an indomitable force in the poposphere with its release.
So let’s get into it. From “The After Taste (intro)” to “The After Taste (outro)”, here we are breaking down the album “The After Taste” by Kenya Grace.
1 The After Taste
She beckons her listeners with the repeated phrase, “So, if you have a weird taste in your mouth,” a deeply metaphorical line that sets the stage for the thematic journey of the album. It’s a ‘weird taste’—an uneasy residual feeling permeating her listeners’ experiences. This track does more than just kick off the record—it frames the artistic narrative, nudging her audience to stay tuned as she embarks on a quest to “identify the root cause” of their discomfort. This, my friends, is Kenya Grace using her power of words and music, guiding her fans towards introspection and promises of potential catharsis. A fierce wake-up call, that’s what “The After Taste (Intro)” is all about.
2 Strangers
Grace lays her vulnerabilities bare with lines like “Every time I date somebody new, I feel vulnerable,” encapsulating the raw emotion of diving into the unfamiliar, only to retreat back to safety when things don’t pan out. Her emotive narrative culminates in the gripping verse “And then one random night when everything changes, You won’t reply and we’ll go back to strangers”. Here Grace dissects the heartrending shift from intimate companionship to alienation, encapsulating the universal pain of breakups. It’s a tale of deja vu, a bitter-sweet repetition that anyone who’s ever dared to love and, inevitably, lost will surely resonate. As such, “Strangers” stands as a potent exemplar of Kenya Grace’s lyrical prowess and her ability to distill complex emotional landscapes into hauntingly relatable anthems.
3 It’s not fair
The lyric, “In my head, I can’t forget all the stupid shit you said, and it’s not fair, you don’t care, but I see you everywhere,” is a raw, unfiltered insight into a painful breakup. Grace masterfully blends nostalgia, regret, and heartache in a narrative that echoes the universal sentiments of abandoned love. The refrain “It’s not fair,” repeated throughout the song, strikes a resonant chord representing the sentiment of injustice felt in unrequited love. The lyrics capture a vivid image of suppressed memories resurfacing, triggering graceful suffering deeply rooted in bygone love. There’s a poignant exploration of love and loss; genuine emotions spill out through the delicate balance of remorse and acceptance, hitting us right in the feels.
4 Stay
Grace’s cutting lyricism tears into the tumultuous dynamic with the visceral line: “I know that you hate my guts, I think there’s something wrong with us”. It’s a moment of raw honesty that reverberates against the backdrop of the album’s pop aesthetic. The song taps into the all-too-familiar paradox of conflict and attachment, crafting a narrative fraught with dysfunction yet held together by a desperate plea; “Can’t you just stay?” The turmoil and indecision is palpable, solidifying “Stay” as a stand-out track that showcases Grace’s aptitude for melding lyrical depth with addictively catchy melodies.
5 Someone Else
A beacon of pop melancholy, she taps into the raw agony of seeing the one she loves falling for another. The lyrics, “Then we’re in the club and you’re kissing her neck, I’m stood by myself, texting my friends ‘Cause I, I, I Hate to see you with someone else (with someone else),” echo the disquietude of an unhealed heartbreak. She’s weaving a tapestry of intimate moments – morning talks over coffee, late-night cab rides, weekend wines – now tinged with a bitter aftertaste. And she doesn’t shy away from her vulnerability, as displayed in the painfully honest line, “So tell me, baby, why not me? Was I just a novelty?” It’s pop’s potent grief-into-gold transformation, with Kenya Grace proving herself a dab hand at mining the depths of romantic despair.
6 My Baby Loves to Dance
In the refrain, “He stays out too late at the club for the feeling / I can’t sleep at home, staring up at the ceiling / Said he loves to dance all alone, I don’t believe him,” there’s an aching in her words as she navigates through the chasms of distrust and loneliness in a relationship. We’re hurtled into the silent turmoil of the protagonist, mirroring the strain of a love stranded on the dance floor. This track brims with subtext and smoky undertones, encouraging us to examine the layers beneath the surface of love, the struggle of holding on, and the dance of denial. Ultimately, the song leaves a tangible resonance of reality’s aftertaste, laying bare the complexities of romance and rhythm in the neon glow of nightlife.
7 Hey, Hi, How are you?
Replicating the essence of a neglected voicemail, Grace pours her soul into each word. “People tell me all the time to try be someone new, but I don’t wanna talk to anybody else but you,” she croons, her raw vulnerability seeping through. This line encapsulates the crux of the song, a desperate need for connection that goes unanswered. This heart-rending narrative plays out against a backdrop of distant memories and fruitless attempts at reaching out. It’s a narrative of an emotional stalemate, with the piercing line “I wish that I was strong, but you’re gone,” marking a turning point, as Grace confronts her own despair. It’s a somber ballad that is as heart-wrenching as it is compelling, demanding the listener’s unwavering attention.
8 Only In My Mind
The haunting repetition of “But it’s only in my mind” underscores the painful realization that the intense connection she describes is a memory, not a present reality. When she sings, “In my room, I hear you call my name, Your perfume inside my pillowcase, I feel you and your finger’s trace,” it’s a visceral description of how the senses hold onto the vestiges of a past relationship. The recurring lines, “You say you love me, We, we lay together every night, You touch me, I, I, I’m losing track of time” capture the intimacy and depth of the relationship, imbuing the song with a melancholic resonance that exposes the raw, emotional undercurrent flowing through ‘The After Taste’.
9 The After Taste
She lays it bare when she sings, “So, I hope this has helped you determine the origin of that bad taste in your mouth. Make sure you rinse it out”, hinting at a desire for purge and renewal. The repetition of “Then never eat it again”, is a powerful refrain, a not-so-subtle reminder to avoid past mistakes. Kenya Grace packs a lyrical punch with this song, using the refrain as a clarion call – she insists on the necessity of letting go of the past and the promise of moving forward. The melancholic undercurrent of “I wish that I was someone else” weaves an added layer of vulnerability, making “The After Taste (outro)” a candid, evocative, and memorable finale of the album.
