Kate Kristine is capable of describing the powerful feelings that most people struggle to label. Her new song, “Stranger I Can’t Tell”, takes a closer look at a contemporary type of heartbreak: being unhappy when you no longer have a close bond with a person, who is not dead. She is based in Nashville and has already gained numerous followers in Tik Tok, having more than a million views prior to the release of this song.
Her popularity has been driven by the fact that she has matured in her music blending the small, intimate sound of her indie-folk music with a more welcoming, expansive indie-pop sound. The outcome is a song that is personal and movie-like. The key lyrical, you’re a stranger I can not tell, but oh, I know you well demonstrates how confusing it is to observe a strong bond tearing apart. Contrary to the normal songs about breakup that discuss the end, Kristine discusses the next step, the unresolved conversation and the self-invented closure that we take to move on. “Stranger I Can’t Tell” demonstrates that Kate Kristine is a significant figure in indie-pop.
She does not provide easy answers and quick solutions; rather she provides the listeners with room to ponder on the ambiguous aspects of their respective memories. It is a haunting, beautiful and repeatable song that makes a big step in her developing career.
