Kissing Death
On October 4th MOTHICA announced all shows for 2024 would be canceled so she could focus on going to rehab to recover from a pill addiction. On "Exit Plan" she references this very struggle, likely lining up with a relapse in January. This record pretty blatantly outlines the state she was in mentally but it's hard to say it could have been predicted now. "How do you live when you don't want to die anymore" is the lyric I've sort of internalized as the mission statement of Kissing Death and I see now it was for her as well.
I wasn't totally on board with Kissing Death initially, seeing it as another attempt at MOTHICA's first record. Now I see the two as counter parts from different genres. Where there was more nu metal influence on Nocturnal, Kissing Death has a darker dance feel. "The Void," track one on the record, is a short trance track who sets the scene in a much different way than "SLEEPWALK" from the first. "SLEEPWALK" talked through the album's themes over a sampled track, this foreshadows the sonics to come with only hints of it lyrically. One song in particular, "Afterlife," plays in the spaces of both records as it takes the Kissing Death sonics played to the tuning and structures of Nocturnal.
MOTHICA did set out to write a concept album here and she had quite a strong premise to go off of. "Doomed" plants the seeds for our protagonist but also serves as great symbolism for the pressure to be well in polite society. "The Reaper" presents our antagonist as a toxic love interest, a symbol of suicidal ideation and so much more. Throughout the entire record death is presented as something we embrace because he'll "take us either way," not considering the value in living first. "Oblivion for Two" is the conflict point for these characters where our narrator confronts their toxic partner about their mutually assured destruction. If you've been here, you feel this struggle and know the person on the receiving end is not listening. Aside from being relatable, it's all just such a journey to watch this character go on and feels rewarding as you watch their confidence and desire to live grow in the back half. I want to highlight the title track here; this artist knew she needed help and wanted to live. On this song she looks back at destructive decisions but accepts mistakes happen when we're in pain over what plays like a eulogy. She also reframes the entire death character, now, instead of living dangerously because everyone dies, she's living well in spite of the fact. I hope she does continue to live well and comes out of this fight even stronger than before. When I do these write ups, I try to remember the person behind the art. MOTHICA could not exist without McKenzie Ellis, I'd trade never having a new song again if it meant she was okay.
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