Kalbells is the solo project of Kalmia Traver of Rubblebucket. On the heels of her Mothertime EP (a collaboration with Chrome Sparks released in April 2020), she’s announced the release of the sophomore album with her bandmates Angelica Bess (Body Language), Zoë Brecher (Hushpuppy, Sad13), and Sarah Pedinotti (Okkervil River, LipTalk).
Max Heart will be out on March 26th, 2021 via NNA Tapes. According to the press release, it explores what happens when we let go of what doesn’t serve us in order to leave space for the blessings that do. The album’s ten vibrant and subtly layered tracks of mesmerizing psychedelic synth pop (co-engineered with Luke Temple) were birthed from the band’s practice of listening and accountability, rejoicing in their queerness, and promoting each other to be their most genuine selves.
We already shared “Purplepink“; “Pickles” is a new excerpt. She explains:
“The song is about escaping a romantic pickle by grudgingly accepting getting one’s ego chopped down, or at least chopped back…. and then realizing the whole experience can be kind of fun, sadistically, but also existentially thrilling and weirdly healing. For the second verse Miss Eaves and I had a long conversation about fuckbois and then she turned around this glistening cave of pickle puns and our mouths all dropped to the floor and we all fell in love with her.”
Listen below.