Cate Kileva Delivers A beautiful and edgy Set of Songs
- R.A.G.
- Jul 22, 2025
- 4 min read
A recent release from Cate Kileva has a unique way of delivering a dreamy undertone with personal attributes that give off such lush honesty that you can't turn away from it.
"Say You Are" is a song that portrays a lot of personality and the production of it all takes you through this dripping and floaty sort of alternative pop journey where you are given gorgeous melodies to hang on to and vocal performances that add such a balanced texture to the slightly edgy tonality of the music that it all brings out an atmosphere that feels slightly cinematic but very unique at the same time.
This is a track off the album How You Love Is How You Die, which is a record that gives off tons of beautiful layers that are performed gracefully but also bear that edginess and slight dark tone throughout some of the record.
Songs like "A Burning Flame" are intense and have rock backings at times but also bring out a refreshing pop overtone as well, so the combination of the alternative and the pop comes together seamlessly.
A lot of the tracks take you on these vast journeys. Some of them feel very floaty and drifting with amazing production that lets you focus on lyrics, a lot of the time, but also gets you addicted to the soundscape of everything.
Songs like "Bitten" are a pretty perfect example of exactly that. You're paying attention to those lyrics, but you're also drawn to her melodic approaches vocally, along with that drifting and sort of flowy tone and sound.
You get a lot of influences coming into play throughout this record and one of the strongest ones that I hear at times is Bjork.
I love that borderline '90s alternative pop undertone that she gives off and how the song sometimes builds into these massive climactic intensities.
You can tell all of these songs came from some genuine place and that they have meaning to them.
These are tracks that she wrote to get things off her chest and at times, they can actually be a little bit vulnerable, but the ones that are more vulnerable are the ones you can connect with.
Listening to this record is like a waking dream.
It takes you to a different place, and if you listen to the record in full, it's an amazing experience.
Although there are a lot of singles on this record that stand on their own two feet, listening to the full album is the way to go.
I feel like this was meant to be listened to from beginning to end, so you can experience all that is happening.
All of those layers, textures, emotional backbones that push forth and let all of those thoughts and feelings come out are all fluctuating with intensity and warmth, at times.
Listening to this record is like reading a book. When you're done, you have to snap yourself back to reality again, and it's been a while since I've heard an album that did that to me.
You can tell there was a lot of attention to detail when it comes to the arrangement, composition, and especially production on this record but it never loses that heavy-handed personality.
It's the personality or character that you end up really getting attached to throughout this whole thing.
It's almost like these songs were chapters in the artist's life, and she's inviting you along for that journey.
You get the sense of that slight edge and almost gothic underbelly, but it's not too heavy. There is a lot of that edginess and alternative tone, but there's also plenty of brightness and pop that come flooding in and out, which helps balance the record out amazingly.
Not just balanced in a musical sense, but in an emotional sense as well.
These are ups and downs, lights at the end of tunnels, struggles, thoughts, and emotions that all come out in particular ways, so it's something that obviously has a lot of depth, and again, is meant to be heard in full.
You don't want to skip songs. You want to get the full stories.
I was definitely washed away by this record, and it felt amazing to get completely immersed in everything it delivers, from the musical landscape to the waves of emotion.
As I mentioned before, it's all quite a brilliant experience and something that anyone who loves a sort of dreamy alternative pop sound will fall for right off the bat.
This is an album you can sort of swim through, and it feels amazing to do so.
Dive into this one when you can, put on some headphones so you can soak in everything the way you were meant to, and see what this record does for you.
I'm positive it will affect you. Some of these tracks are able to paint images in your head or trigger emotions or moods.
The full video for "Say You Are" drops July 25th and you can watch it on your YouTube page.
Check this out right now and you will not soon regret it.
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