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SINGLE REVIEW: KIM PETRAS – MALIBU

2.5

Kim Petras has been going steady for the last 2 years with a consistent repertoire of incredibly sleek and squeaky clean pop bops. These run the gamut from 80s inspired synth pop to trap and everything in between but with the consistent pop elements of snappy snares, clean bass and catchy melodies. 

This song really is no different, supposedly inspired by Baywatch, Malibu is an 80s styled sleek piece of pop that neither stands out stylistically from her back catalogue nor does anything  particularly interesting with the concepts on show. It’s undeniably well produced with a clean guitar and pulsing bass over a simple four to the floor beat but it does nothing for me that I cannot get from some of the first tracks that burst her on to the scene such as Heart to Break or I Don’t want It All. In fact the hook feels pretty old now, a regression in fact from what we saw on tracks such as ‘Do Me’ off her first album with its wonky electronics contrasting the typical clean bass. 

With such a wide range of interesting material made in the lockdown from the likes of James Blake, Charli XCX and The Streets a track such as this coming out feels out of sync with the world at large. As if we are about to head into festival season and watch tennis instead of another dawdling month of sitting inside twiddling our thumbs and watching whatever’s on Netflix. Of course this track can be seen as uplifting, one in which the listener may be able to tap into and revive their hopes for long cancelled summer plans and a hope for a future free from these confines. 

Whether my opinion on this track would change if we were not in the situation is hard to tell but instead of pushing the boat out further with her sound that we saw in both Clarity and Turn Off The Light we have instead gone back to her sound from 2017 just with sleek additional guitars licks. It’s not a bad sound but when others are bringing out such interesting takes on their music using a more DIY ideal to have such clean, summery pop come out feels weird when we won’t be able to get to a gig till at least Autumn. While her fans will be in love with the track it neither brings me anything, even if it is one of her favourite track she has ever made.