Review: Kylie Hughes' self-titled album

Kylie Hughes is a Californian beauty who is about to release her self-titled album. Here at CelebMix, we’ve enjoyed Kylie’s sound for a while now. The last time we spoke to her, she’d just released a video for her track ‘Never Ever’, and was spreading love and good vibes through her self-coined Calipopicana style of music.

Since then, Kylie has been busy working on her sound with producers such as Mark McKee, Ben Jaffe, Mike Shimshack and Brandon Friesen, the result of which can be heard on her self-titled album. The 12-track offering shows a much stronger Kylie, one who is certain within herself and her sound. From edgy anthems to emotional ballads, the songstress has delivered a predominantly country-pop album, with each song perfectly placed to weave together her story. In Kylie’s own words, “This is my new beginning and it’s about damn time.”

Kylie kicks off her album with ‘Heat’, which was first unveiled last month. It’s sassy, fun and combines slick country-pop with a light bluesy vibe. For us, ‘Heat’ is the perfect introduction to Kylie’s new sound, and we couldn’t think of a better song that packs a punch. Check out the music video for it below, in which Kylie shows off her acting skills. Directed by Frank Borin, he praised her fierce performance, stating: “Kylie brought it. And there are very few artists who can bring it to the table like she did.”

Guitar-led ‘Gotta Get Out’ is a lot more countrified but also shares the same sense of playfulness as ‘Heat’ did. We could easily imagine this song on an early Taylor Swift album. The third track is ‘Leave It Alone’, which is one of our favourites from Kylie’s self-titled album. It’s a classic pop track with an edge, complete with an anthemic chorus. We love the strong instrumental throughout, which adds to the alluring tone of the song.

‘Love Somebody Else’ is the first ballad on the album, and shows a different side to the songstress. The song is a little more stripped back compared to the first three tracks and allows Kylie’s vocals to take centre stage. It’s a true power ballad in every sense as you can feel every bit of emotion in her voice, particularly during the final chorus.

‘Always On Your Side’ opens with a powerful instrumental before Kylie’s vocals kick in. The verses are fairly gentle, and build up to a powerful, rock-inspired chorus which is the song’s highlight. ‘Little Did You Know’ is simple ballad with a strong melody from the off. There’s hints of piano and strings throughout, and instead of the key change at the end, we would have loved for the strings to really be pushed for emphasis. With that being said, it’s still one of the strongest offerings on the album.

After a string of emotion-filled songs, ‘Hungover’ lifts the album with its energy. The song has fun and relatable lyrics, and it’s safe to say that anyone who’s had one too many on a night out will choose this as their new ‘morning-after-the-night-before’ anthem. The album continues with ‘Dead Or Alive’, a brilliant country/blues offering from Kylie which, once again, shows a different side to the songstress. It’s moody and hypnotic, and we love seeing Kylie bend the musical boundaries a little during this song.

‘Uh Huh’ brings us back fully to the country-pop sound, with Kylie providing a fresh sounding song which is very catchy to the ear. The song is full of addictive lyrics, however, if there was a prize for the best opening lyrics, we would have to give it to ‘Free Fallin’. Cold Dr Pepper in the middle of December and a hot apple cider on a warm summer night? Kylie sounds like a girl after our own heart! We love how stripped back the song is, which reflects the easiness of the track and its message.

The album’s penultimate track is ‘I Can’t Believe We’re In Love’, a pleasant mid-tempo offering which allows Kylie’s vocals to drift effortlessly over the steady beat. ‘Forever Is A Long Way To Fly’ rounds off the album in a sweet manner, with her heavenly vocals at the forefront of the song. It’s a complete contrast to the opening track. However, it reminds us that Kylie is a versatile artist who works the country-pop genre to suit her emotions.

Kylie Hughes’ self-titled album is a fusion of country, pop, folk and blues, which has been carefully put together to demonstrate different sides to her music. The edgier offerings such as ‘Heat’, ‘Leave It Alone’ and ‘Dead Or Alive’ are the standout tracks for us, and we’d love to hear more of that side in the future. However, overall the album is a well-rounded offering which shows Kylie’s growth as an artist.

Kylie Hughes’ self-titled album is available from tomorrow (May 26).

Let us know if you’ll be downloading/streaming Kylie Hughes’ album! Get in touch on Twitter @CelebMix

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