I was shoved into an involuntary sabbatical (read: life clobbers the lights out of you sometimes) when I chanced upon today’s record. It’s really a double-edged sword: I was so looking forward to getting back to these fun reviews, but it did make the weight just a tad more unbearable.

What drew me to this particular tune was how it captured a lot of what I’ve been ruminating on. In a lot of ways, it wouldn’t be remiss to say that the world’s kinda doomed, or at least falling apart. Climate change and the Nepal floods, wars and conflicts that never seem to end, collapse in political and systemic trust, and somehow it doesn’t only cost to live, but that cost is rising? What the heck, man?

At the same time, for many of us, birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and we can still laugh and form lasting memories with our loved ones. Does that make anything better? Does that make it worse?

That feeling, I think, is perfectly encapsulated in today’s single – Love in the Age of the Hydrogen Bomb by Kata. Charming title. Let’s dive right in, shall we?

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Right off the bat, tonal dissonance is wielded sharply through chipper, homely guitar plucks and lyrics that playfully roll off the tongue, except those lyrics are:

I’m in love in the age of the hydrogen bomb

Really makes you go, “Oh, God.”

This wouldn’t work nearly as well if the lyrics and melody weren’t so well-crafted. They flow smoothly and quickly at a conversational pace, letting the juxtaposition bombard you and leave you reeling. All the while, Kata chirps along, though you can sniff out that it’s a tired, ironic, and almost despondent kind of cheer thanks to his effective delivery: the way his voice strains forlornly at select clauses like “love” or “starts to cry,” for instance, really sells how wild and ridiculous it is that all of this coexists in the same reality.

It never lets up, either. As the verses go on, the syllables get more packed, and delivery gets more frantic: all the while, the scope of doom grows ever larger, and the whiplash of its coexistence with our intimate everyday only gets more salient:

We're in love in the age of money, it's not funny
I cook her nine dollar eggs, and I keep the yolks runny
We dream of a lifе where we don't havе to buy
And then she falls asleep on the bend in my thigh

We're in love in the age of oblivion
It's really in every facet of life, in every city we're livin' in
Your data gets sold, and my mother grows old
Atomic winter is coming, I've been told that it's cold

And then, a chorus swells as the music blooms:

I'm in love, I'm in love
Thank the cruel lord above, I'm in love
The world burns, yet my heart yearns
We lie by the ferns, we weep in turns

Which really got to me! The lyrics are one thing, but it only packs a punch thanks to the stellar arrangement. Our tessitura (the average pitch where a melody is centred around) rapidly expands to encompass tonal breadth, while the chorale and backup voices deliver a warmth that punches straight to the soul. 

Pacing is important too: after the rapid-fire distress of the verses, the lyrics suddenly have room to sit and breathe. 

It’s almost like a moment of clarity: this is it. It sinks in. 

We’re doomed, but there’s love. But we’re doomed – but there’s love.

And if that bomb drops, let's share one more kiss at the end.

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You can find Kata on Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, and many more.