Sweet Passerby [CD]

On her sophomore album A Sweet Passerby, Orange County and LA-based artist kelz traverses a bittersweet journey towards self-acceptance and peace, combining the charged energy of 90s/Y2K pop with nostalgic synthscapes and whispered lyrics that sear the heart. Written over the past 4 years, the 11-track album is an introspective self-portrait about a functioning person on the surface whose internal state spins through a crisis of identity during deaths in the family, periods of depression, and reflections on simpler times.Just like the Southern California tide, the murmurous backdrop within A Sweet Passerby is deceptively peaceful. Kelz finished writing the single "Sweet Escape" during the last week she spent with her late grandmother before her passing. Despite it's vibrant dance beat, the track's mellow chorus and freeform lyrics chase escapism through the turmoil of missing a beloved elder, while hoping she's now in a better place. Nestled between twinkling melodies and sweetly plucked guitar, "Falling Behind" is similarly rife, lyrically, with self-paralysis and simmers in the loneliness of grief.From the rupture of grief, comes the thrill of release. Earlier in the album, we're first plunged into the summery energy of lead single "Just Us 2", a dance-heavy single that sees kelz choose her own happiness for once, wrapped in uplifting drums and shimmery chords. "Breathe" continues the exploration of self-kindness, more steadfast in it's sonic worldbuilding with a set of light vocals that slide into cruise control.The album's core emotional landscape is most prominently explored in final track "I'm Sorry", which ends not with hope, but a realization that the answers don't come all at once. On one of the most vulnerable and complex offerings on the album, the budding songwriter reflects on how she loves, ultimately apologizing to her younger self for not putting herself first. With A Sweet Passerby, kelz steps confidently into the maturity of a fully realized sophomore record, weaving intentional lyrics that search for closure and clarity amid emotional disorientation. Wistful, guitar-laced production balances melancholy with lift, grounded in a perspective that looks toward tomorrow while accepting that not every answer arrives today.