kelz – A Sweet Passerby

kelz is the project of Kelly Truong, a Vietnamese-American multi-instrumentalist and producer from Orange County, California. Now based in LA, Truong is signed to the NYC indie Bayonet (Mei Semones, Beach Fossils, Frankie Cosmos), and makes a kind of effervescent electro-pop that pulls elements of dance music, trip hop, synth pop and more guitar-driven indie into a sound that’s expansive, exploratory and emotionally immediate.

Today, she is announcing her new LP A Sweet Passerby, which will be released on Bayonet on July 24th.

On her new album 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.

To mark the announce, kelz is sharing the lead single “Just Us 2” which follows last month’s “Sweet Escape.”

Co-produced with Steph Marziano (Hayley Williams, Vundabar), it’s a hazed and dreamy dance track that nods to New Order with its snaking mid range guitar leads and fellow West Coast dream pop innovator Tanukichan in its combination of saturated sonics and sugared melody.

kelz says of the track:

At first glance, this is an uplifting love song about a loved one. Alternatively, I view it also as a celebration of independence and freedom. I like to think of this song as a safe space to start the journey of self-reflection through its upbeat and soft sound. 

#kelzmusic