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Photo: Chuck Grant

Kacy Hill’s fourth record is here and it was well worth the over two-year wait. BUG places power in the peaceful moments of life, while reserving room for the harder times that need to be expressed in order to heal. Half of the ten-track project has already been released as singles, leaving a balanced amount of new music for fans to sink their teeth in.

BUG is the product of a well-deserved break from music, which saw Hill immersing herself in the outdoors, spending idle time gardening, beekeeping, and simply taking a pause from the hectic nature of being an artist. Pulling inspiration from her childhood in the open frontiers of the desert in Arizona, this record leaves space for an emptiness that’s hard to find in the hustle and bustle of a city like Los Angeles or New York. On comparing herself to the seeds she grows, Hill says “...it really is a spiritual thing. There is also something really beautiful about the fact that there are so many things that could have gone wrong to lead me down a different path.”

While a chunk of the songwriting is about processing the end of a long-term relationship, Hill prioritizes the dissection of her own free time, her relationship with being an artist, and the perspective that comes with pondering it all together. This pause of reflection created a “beautiful and childlike” result, seeing the profound songwriter feel more connected than ever to her artistic journey. This is especially conveyed in tracks like “You Know I Love You Still,” an ode to inevitability, and “Frog Rinse,” an experimental moment of nostalgia.

The ethos driving BUG becomes fully realized in the diving “My Day Off,” featuring Nourished by Time, a love song to self-care and prioritizing happiness. There are healing powers in this breezy summer anthem, complemented by its entrancing music video that sees Hill at one with nature in a variety of ways.

BUG is made up of moments that urge listeners to bask in their sensory experiences; noticing sounds, feelings, taste, and more as each track runs. In a collaboration with fellow boundary-pushing artist Donna Missal, Hill uses her ethereal vocal performance to captivate listeners in a soundscape both upbeat and dark. The seeming purpose of "Here I Am" is to invoke indescribable feelings through its sonics, which is continued in the following track. “Honey Boba Boy” makes more room for quiet introspection, with a standout bridge that uses a vocoder to express the inner workings of Hill’s expression of self.

“Poquito Mas,” named after Hill’s favorite Los Angeles burrito joint, envelopes the senses over glittery production. She muses on the past but makes it clear that, “Longing can be deceiving” and questions “Is it the place or the feeling?” The rising artst has a knack for conveying the most existential thought through a simple delivery, causing the words to ruminate before impact. In this track especially, the happy-go-lucky sound uplifts the heaviness of her thoughts.

The last song on BUG, “If I Could Say,” features Hill singing over a striking guitar paired with a looped vocalization. It’s the past mixed with the future, confusing in the most impactful way. It acts as the album’s final lullaby, closing the chapter of self-discovery in a perfect jumbling of conflicting emotions.

In BUG, Hill sounds more like herself than ever. The driving force of DIY and throwing away expectations from the outside world makes for a project full of light, loss, and the power of finding happiness within yourself. Forging your own path will never look correct to everyone else, but Hill’s not only okay with that, she welcomes it with open arms.

Listen to BUG below: