Vietnamese singer-songwriter Kiey continues shaping an increasingly distinctive musical identity with METROMIRAGE, an album that feels like it exists somewhere between yesterday’s musical memories and tomorrow’s sonic possibilities. Blending strands of alternative and dreamy pop, contemporary R&B and electronic experimentation, it is a record where contrasting influences collide, mingle and occasionally dance together in unexpected ways.
Opener ‘moon over metropolis’ sets the scene with an almost childlike, old-school charm, its music-hall sensibilities and scratchy, vintage-record production sounding like a forgotten musical curiosity rescued from another era. From there, ‘oolong’ heads into more futuristic territory, its languid nu-disco groove providing a wonderfully understated soundtrack to some imagined neon-lit cityscape.
‘fun fiction’, which features Cece Trương, is particularly intriguing, shot through with future-soul motifs and melodies and a sound that doesn’t simply exist at a creatively unique place equidistant between then and now but also at a fascinating cultural collision point of Western pop and echoes of earlier Eastern traditions. Meanwhile, ‘sauna x’ offers a darker, more brooding diversion, its trap beats and sweeping synthesised strings cutting through the album’s otherwise chiming, shimmering pop architecture.
Elsewhere, ‘white boy i sat next to on a plane’ and ‘phan thiet’ explore romantic recollections, emotional distance and those fleeting encounters that somehow leave the longest shadows. This might be a largely pop-infused album, but Kiey still uses it to explore relatable, realistic themes.
What makes METROMIRAGE such a great sonic experience is Kiey’s ability to draw from seemingly disparate musical worlds without ever sounding like he is simply collecting influences. Even if pop isn’t your usual thing, a lot is going on here that any discerning music fan can appreciate. Here, he creates a distinctive sonic language of his own, one that is the sound of nostalgia meeting futurism, where familiar melodies are framed in unexpected surroundings. An imaginative, quietly adventurous album that rewards repeated visits.
