Album Review: Abbe May - Kiss My Apocalypse

Kiss My Apocalypse is the first release from Perth musician Abbe May since her 2011 LP Design Desire. During the hiatus between releases, May made a swift U-turn on her previously guitar-heavy style, and this new album highlights her subsequent transition towards what she's labeled 'doom pop'.

This new, synth-focused style better harnesses the dark themes that May explores lyrically on Kiss My Apocalypse, whether it be her casual cynicism of relationships on the continuously melancholy, yet catchy track T.R.O.U.B.L.E. (“Remember to lie to all your other lovers”), or the aggressive sentiment found on her first single Karmageddon (“I drunk you like a Coca-Cola when I should have stoned you”).

May has created an evocative, multifaceted album that powerfully explores some of those clichéd sentiments about love, lust and betrayal in a renewed context. Erratic drum beats, distorted synths and May's calm, sometimes cold vocals provide a solid battleground for the issues of anger, vulnerability and empowerment to play out. Tracks like Perth Girls have enough bite in them through these heavier features that they create quite a refreshing take on what are otherwise quite generic premises in the pop world.

In terms of immediate appeal, May has been able to inject every hum, sigh or murmur on the album with this dark yet charming sex appeal. The rasp in her voice as she leisurely sings “And you know when my tongue slips/You can kiss my apocalypse” on the title track shows that she is the all-empowered femme fatale in this story, and by god does she play the part well.