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At once minimalist by design and yet maximally melodic, we begin Bailey Flores’ cover of the Doja Cat/SZA hit “Kiss Me More” uncertain of where the ballad-like tempo is going to take us. There’s a bit of mystique hanging over the instrumentation as the song begins to unfold, but it’s in this raw, tender moment before we hear the first lines slip away from Flores’ lips that we appreciate the virginal backdrop the track will enjoy for the duration of its nearly five and a half minute run time. This is a supple, bittersweet love song when it’s being performed by a singer of this variety, and while I’m admittedly a big fan of the original piece, this “Kiss Me More” is almost too intriguing and fresh a listen to categorize as a cover outright.
Instrumentally, the piano is all Flores needs to tell a story in this single, and it would have been foolish to put anything else in this mix beside it. The keys are both sophisticated and subject to the shaping of the lead vocal, which is fluidly presented and subsequently directive of every emotional sentiment it would offer through these words. She didn’t pen a word of this song on her own, but there’s never a moment in which she sounds like she’s being disingenuous or just playing a character with us in “Kiss Me More.” Her heart is definitely on the line in this performance, and looking to us for a bit of kinship in even the quietest of storms brewing here.
There’s not a lot of distance between the keys and the singing in this mix, but there didn’t need to be; frankly, I think their literal bond in this track is something that reinforces a sense of intimacy we might not have picked up on in another scenario. Flores is cutting away the fat to reveal layer upon layer of expression here, even without there being a big backing band behind her, and taking into account her nimble and surgically precise she is with the mic in her hands, I have to wonder what kind of heat she could bring to an original track entirely of her own making. The talent is real, and so is the moxie.
Bailey Flores just now came up on my radar for the first time this summer with her cover of “Kiss Me More,” but with the kind of panache she’s got in this cut and dry take on Doja Cat’s confirmed super-smash, I don’t imagine her getting anything but critical acclaim for her skills in 2021. There’s a lot of crossover between social media stars and pop music at the moment, but in this instance, it’s hard to question the credibility of the transitions we’re seeing in headlines across the American mainstream and underground press. Bailey Flores is ready for the next level in her career, and she’s undeniably playing like she wants to take her relationship with music to a level others in her scene only dream of reaching.
by Bethany Page
