spill tab releases mesmerising new EP 'KLEPTO'

Image: Jade Sadler

Born in Bangkok and now based in Los Angeles, French-Korean artist spill tab creates music that is eclectic, brash and out of the box, often with little regard to conforming to the expected structure of a pop song - in the best way possible.

Today she releases her new KLEPTO, a collection of four previously released singles and one brand new track. It is a collection of sounds that lean into indiepop, electro thrash and experimental pop.

Brand new track ‘fetišh’ kicks off the EP. A grungey guitar leads into gentle vocals from spill tab teamed with sweet melodies before it veers into an instrumental, thrashy, almost metal chorus. The last song recorded for the EP, it deals with letting go of caring what other people think of you, even for people whose opinion you care for.

‘Window’ first released in March, brings a touch of smooth funk to the EP, with an insistent beat mixed with dreamy soundscapes and vocals and moments of harder beats and distorted vocals as spill tab sings ‘I think I’m done’

‘Splinter’ has a classic indiepop sound, yet like everything spill tab creates it has an ever changing sound which makes it a thrilling and hypnotic listen. Full blooded choruses lead into pared back, soulful verses.

‘Sunburn’, at just under two minute long, is perhaps the most traditionally sounding pop track on the EP, a delicious, infectious track that builds up into a frenetic, claustrophobic sound before cutting out abruptly.

The EP ends with 2022 single 'Crème Brûlée!', a blinder of a track - chaotic, cacophonous, constantly swerving and changing musical paths in the most brilliant way possible. Pulling from multiple genres - pop, rock, thrash, traditional Asian music, piano ballads - it is a remarkably creative track that on first listen you may struggle to understand, but will definitely stick with you and quickly become your new favourite song.

“I made a lot of these songs during a time in my life where so much was changing, a lot of good evolutions but those came with endless self doubt, hella imposter syndrome, and just the general notion that I'm doing things very wrong but not really knowing what necessarily feels right either,” spill tab says about the creation of the EP. “Chronologically I made ‘fetišh’ last, but it ended up being first on the tracklist; I think it's a great intro into the tiny world of this EP. This song is so unapologetic and confident and it's these things that I feel like I'm most often not, but I want to be. In reality it's so terrifying to ask of someone to welcome every part of you, but this song is sort of a brave fantasy of not caring about how I'm received by someone whose perspective I care a lot about.”

“I just felt kind of alone throughout these songs being made, and so I think a lot of them are very inner dialogue-y, the lyrics talk about fantasies and hidden feelings and private thoughts that are harder to share than others,” she continues. “I think probably ‘fetišh’ is the biggest example of that, it's this sort of make-believe conversation with someone that's being delivered in a very dom, assertive way that I fantasise I could one day authentically pull off lol. But I also think putting these alter egos in music makes them more accessible to me in real life. In these sorts of songs I write up versions of myself I wish I could be, maybe it's my attempt at writing myself into something new.”

spill tab is one of the most creative young artists in music today and her music is always a fascinating listen. Never there to live in the background, or to exist as an occasional thought, it is music that challenges you and makes you think - you want to hear and understand every note and vocal inflection, as it opens your mind to just how good pop music can be when the traditional structure is torn apart. KLEPTO is a high point in spill tab’s career and should be on your playlist right now.

KLEPTO is out now via Sony Music Australia. You can buy and stream here.
To keep up with all things spill tab you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.