Album Review: K. Flay - 'Every Where Is Some Where'

The great Chuck Palahniuk once said that we all live pretty much the same life. Even though we all want to believe our experiences are our own; that we’re maybe even unique. It’s hard to disagree with that statement when artists like K. Flay come around, telling honest stories that reflect the narrative of three-quarters of the people that hear them via her semi-rap, semi-pop, all-emotional delivery.

I am one of those very people, which is why I got so deeply attached to her 2014 LP, 'Life As A Dog', and also why it meant so much to me that her second album, 'Every Where is Some Where' really held up.

Because the good news is that it does indeed hold up, even though it felt slightly disappointing that almost half of its contents are stripped from her 2016 EP 'Crush Me', which most of her fans had already heard, myself included. Nevertheless, 'Every Where is Some Where' wraps up the story she began musically telling on her debut album, offering closure to her falters in love and life with tracks like ‘You Felt Right’. It’s satisfying to hear on songs like ‘High Enough’ that Miss Flay’s happiness seems to have improved despite the frowning, melancholic vibes of album closer 'Slow March'; whether you relate to her journey of investing in someone who didn’t return her love or not.

While most of her experiences are relatable, there are times when K. Flay gets so personal that to say you had experienced the exact same thing as the US singer would be offensive to the personalised history that she so vulnerably presents on this album. On ‘Mean It’, that’s apparent, as she details to the listener a broken family. It’s confronting, but it’s also endearing and somehow comforting to know that she trusts her listeners and fans enough to confide in such emotional tales.

This review is short and doesn’t dive headfirst into guitar tones or time signatures or focus on the actual musical elements is because K. Flay’s output isn’t so much about the technical as it is about what you feel when you’re listening to it. It’s about hearing her love trials and tribulations, about recalling the people you walked away from in life, about sharing in her happiness and also about feeling proud. Of you. Of her. 'Every Where is Some Where' shows K. Flay being authentic without ever being an asshole, and if authenticity can translate into success, then no one else deserves it more than Kristine Meredith Flaherty herself.

1. Dreamers

2. Giver

3. Blood In The Cut

4. Champagne

5. High Enough

6. Black Wave

7. Mean It

8. Hollywood Forever

9. The President Has A Sex Tape

10. It's Just A Lot

11. You Felt Right

12. Slow March

'Every Where Is Some Where' is out now.