What is pretty cool about Norwegian-born, New York based Kaya Wilkin, aka Okay Kaya, is her honesty in trying to figure out her own “shit” (her words not mine). Her openness as a songwriter makes her easily relatable to music listeners. This is no more evident than on her new confessional lo-fi dream-pop inspired album Watch This Liquid Pour Itself.
Lyrically, she is both funny and graphic in what she wants to say. “What if the pills I take will stop me getting wet?”, she bluntly asks on Baby Little Tween, while on Asexual Wellbeing she candidly lets us know “sometimes I rub my ghost dick until I can almost see it”; and moreover even admits “sex with me is mediocre/ but I can give you asexual wellbeing”. On Psych Ward, she is even more daring looking back at her short time in a mental hospital with a very tongue in cheek approach. Even visually, her music videos are a work of art filled with symbolism. For instance, Ascend And Try Again music video uses water as a metaphor to explain anxiety, as that feeling of being stuck in the middle of an ocean and unable to keep your head above the water. It is this exploration of anxiety and Wilkin’s clever therapeutical use of lyrics and music as one of the few activities that helps with mental illness that makes this particular song one of the standout tracks on the new album.
In short, I guess a lot like her debut album Both, Watch This Liquid Pour Itself is in essence Wilkin’s patient attempt at exploring her own sexuality and mental health. Bravo.
Rearview Mirror 
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