Bitter's Kiss
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Bitter's Kiss is an
indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...
project from
Weehawken Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
led by musician Chloe Baker. She is best known for her singles ''No One Will'' and ''Love Won't Make You Cry''.


Career

Bitter's Kiss started as a vehicle for singer/songwriter Chloe Baker to showcase her talents alongside her father. Chloe grew up in a home filled with
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, with a father who maintained a studio, a guitar collection and a band. She started Bitter's Kiss as a way to document her world. Baker has publicly discussed many of her songs meanings and how they relate to her own life. Having started the project while attending
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, an arts academy in
North Bergen North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by ...
, her father helped her to access the necessary resources to record and release her self-titled debut in March 2015. It rapidly received massive critical acclaim. The project has been noted for its heavy use of
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
s and other visual content. Baker released her first music video, for the song, The Rope, in March 2015. By the end of the year she had gone on to make videos for Love Won't Make You Cry and No One Will. Love Won't Make You Cry rapidly received more than 100,000 views on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
, meanwhile No One Will, which was shot on location in Ireland, garnered hundreds of thousands of views on
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. Music Times wrote of the video for No One Will, ''"Clearly, "No One Will" is not only the song title, but the message of the visuals featured in this video."'' Meanwhile,
Wild Honey Pie "Wild Honey Pie" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles'' (also known as the "White Album"). It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Less than a minute in length, th ...
claimed, ''"If you’ve ever felt the stress and depressing reality of being a teen in the suburbs, then you’ll be able to relate to Bitter's Kiss and her melancholic single “The Rope.”'' She was also featured on the Bolier & Relondo track Lost & Found and starred in the music video which rapidly cleared a million views on YouTube. Lost & Found reached No. 4 on the
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Top House Charts and #10 on the Beatport Top 100 Charts.


Critical reception

While ''Bitter's Kiss'' received generally positive reviews, several had a more lukewarm take on her debut release and suggested that her youth may have played a factor in her artistic development. This was a sentiment popularized by
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who claimed, ''"It’s possible to say it’s all the result of a little needed experience, but that’s what makes it so fascinating of a document, like a snapshot of a specific time and place we all go through."'' Major media outlets seemed largely positive in their reception of her debut. Huffington Post wrote of her record, ''"Just like the teenage psyche, many of Chloe’s songs are melancholic yet hopeful, also a reflection of the duality of mankind. Though young in age, there is a mature sophistication to her lyrics that combine the struggles of young adulthood with an ageless wisdom."''
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meanwhile raved about her potential, writing, ''"To say that Chloe is talented is a vast understatement; even if she hadn’t written the music, her vocals alone are plenty to be a successful artist, but both of those together mean she’s probably just scratching the surface."'' Some publications did not embrace ''Bitter's Kiss'' quite as much though,
Elmore Magazine ''Elmore'' Magazine is an American music publication founded in 2005 by Suzanne Cadgène and Arnie Goodman. With the motto, "Saving American Music," ''Elmore'' covers a wide variety of genres, including roots, rhythm and blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll, ...
said of the album, ''"it’s a little too safe, stylistically"''
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echoed this, giving the record a 3.5/5 rating and stating, ''"It will be interesting to see if she develops it or allows it to stagnate."''


Discography

*''Bitter's Kiss'' (2015)


References

{{reflist Indie pop groups from New Jersey