Aug 26, 2022
By Caleb Campbell
Today, LA-based indie pop artist Kristiane has shared her sophomore EP, State Lines. Arriving a year after her debut, I Miss Myself, Sometimes, the record finds Kristiane evolving into a more confident and capable songwriter, taking inspiration from indie rock singer/songwriters like Liz Phair and Sharon Van Etten. Accompanied by executive producer Cooper Holzman, Kristiane has developed a style that balances poignant emotive undertones with powerful anthemic songwriting as she explores the hazy period between teenage life and young adulthood.
Kristiane has already teased the record with a string of singles, including “Cry Baby,” “State Lines,” “Before The Night Is Over,” and “Trying to Find Us.” These offer many of the more upbeat moments on the record, such as the catchy and euphoric chorus to “State Lines.” Meanwhile, on the full record, tracks like “3 Friends” and “I’ll Call” show some different angles to Kristiane as a songwriter, with the former offering a longing acoustic ballad and the latter building from a stark keys-laden intro into an electric showstopping finale.
Kristiane also delivers a feverish indie rock gem with one of the record’s highlights, “April Showers.” She says of the track, April Showers is largely a reflection on my childhood and coming of age in Los Angeles. I spill out a lot of my resentment and anger in this song, and a fear of the unresolved pain from being a kid. It is centered in catharsis, and letting myself feel without censoring my thoughts.
‘It’s the kid in me that thinks that I could save you, & the optimist I buried that is waiting on change’ are lyrics I’m most proud of on the EP, because it encapsulates parts of me that I’ve tried to shed coming into adulthood. I am not talking to a single person, but rather all the people in my life that have come and gone that I’ve tried to fix or please but couldn’t, and letting go of the regrets of my adolescence.
Check out “April Showers” and the rest of the State Lines EP below. Kristiane is also playing an EP release show at Los Angeles’ Baader House on September 2 with Keni.