{"id":11911,"date":"2020-10-09T10:41:17","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T15:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/?p=11911"},"modified":"2026-05-06T15:14:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T20:14:26","slug":"album-review-kaina-next-to-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/2020\/10\/09\/album-review-kaina-next-to-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review :: KAINA :: Next To The Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by Grace Hrabi<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next To The Sun<\/em>, the latest release from Chicago-based musician KAINA (pronounced Kah-e-na), is an exploration into the struggles the artist has faced growing up as a first-generation Latina, born and raised in the United States. Her Venezuelan and Guatemalan background influences not only her musical styles but also her lyrics, which are honest and hopeful, keeping the listener open to the reality of her life experience throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

KAINA\u2019s previous EP releases, Sweet ASL <\/em>in 2016 and 4U<\/em> in 2018 were musically similar but did not have the same openness lurking in the lyrics.  Compared to Next To The Sun, <\/em>those EPs feel like the artist was just dipping her toes in the water to see who was listening before really opening up about who she is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The album starts with \u201cHouse.\u201d  The track builds gradually, using different reverbs and effects, putting the listener in a trance of anticipation before a single word has been sung. We hear a  voice humming, inviting us to come closer.  Finally, an ethereal voice invites the listener to know her struggles.  The opening line \u201cYou with your walls, you\u2019re so proud \/ You stay so happy keeping all us out\u201d is such a poignant first hand account of what so many people feel not just in the U.S., but universally.  \u201cAll this divide, it ain\u2019t so healthy \/ There\u2019s room for plenty,\u201d she summarizes in the chorus.  The song sets the tone for the album in its honesty, but it also sets the listener up to know the lyrics are going to be introspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My stand-outs on the album are \u201cWhat\u2019s A Girl\u201d (delivered in a style reminiscent of Fiona Apple) and \u201cJoei,\u201d which opens with a conversation between (presumably) KAINA and a child about having a crush on someone and keeping it a secret if they don\u2019t feel the same way before KAINA\u2019s voice asks \u201cAm I a secret?\u201d  I love the perspective shift from the secret keeper to the sudden realization that all of us could be someone else\u2019s secret.  The closing track, \u201cGreen,\u201d is my favourite on the album. The beat is irresistible as she sings about all of the people who came before her, and the line \u201cBut know me for my truth\u201d really sums up the album.  As KAINA said in an interview with Pitchfork, \u201cyou can\u2019t be a vessel for good if you\u2019re not being honest.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Grace Hrabi Next To The Sun, the latest release from Chicago-based musician KAINA (pronounced Kah-e-na), is an exploration into the struggles the artist has faced growing up as a first-generation Latina, born and raised in the United States. Her Venezuelan and Guatemalan background influences not only her musical styles but also her lyrics, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11911"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11913,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11911\/revisions\/11913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}