New Music:

Petal

Better Than You

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words by sammy maine

photograph by katie krulock

An urgent, rippling surge introduces Petal’s first new music since 2015’s debut album Shame. It’s instant and aggressive, with Kiley Lotz’s earnest vocal performance marking “Better Than You” as an authentic, raging excursion in self acceptance. It’s the kind of relentless energy that gets you out of bed in the morning.

Lotz has long written songs packed full of vulnerable sincerity, with hooks for days and the kind of choruses that never seem to leave your side. On “Better Than You,” Lotz’s forthright approach to songwriting is heightened, marking an assured revelation of letting go, of exhaling, that will no doubt cover Petal’s forthcoming new album Magic Gone.

“I was a closeted queer person struggling with chronic mental health disorders; terrified that if I tried to deal with these two major issues in my life I would lose everyone and everything I loved,” Lotz has said of the new album. “Coming out was the beginning of a long and continuing process of self-actualisation, of taking a hard look at myself and the problems I had and how I could fix them. This record is the result of being the most honest I have ever been in my life, and the constant battle of overcoming the thought that, ‘maybe if I were just someone else completely, everything would be better.’ Magic Gone is about letting go of the anger induced by all the paranoia, anxiety, guilt and pain, and embracing the magic of your own endurance and hoping for the best.” Listen to “Better Than You” below.

Magic Gone is out June 15, via Run For Cover

Pre-order it here

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