As we collectively prepare for the first trick-or-treatless Halloween in aeons, our favourite independent alt-pop icon has been cooking up a 3-track release of spellbinding tunes so we don’t entirely miss out on the year’s best holiday.

Toronto-hailing ARI has always been fascinated with the ghoulish season, and on her “Kiss Me, Kill Me” EP the singer seeks to explore the dark and grittier underbelly of love, lust, pain, and heartbreak as if in her own horror novel. Combining eerie soundscapes with her own-brand of haunting lyricism, ARI gives an R&B-infused facelift to the tricky genre that isn’t just SFX screams and maniacal laughter.

The project starts with “Murderer” – a sultry ballad about toxic relationships that results in a… well, you can guess the rest. ARI then joins a long lineage of artists, from Bette Midler, Nina Simone and even Marilyn Manson, in covering the classic Screamin’ Jay Hawkins track “I Put A Spell On You”, reenvisioned with a hauntingly modern pop melody. Title track “Kiss Me, Kill Me” sees the project reach it’s inevitable climax, with ARI turning the tables on her abusive lover in the spookiest track of them all. Basically, this is what the zombie’s kids from MJ’s “Thriller” video are getting down to…

Speaking on the project, ARI explains: “I’ve been so excited for this EP ever since the idea was conceived. I’m a huge Halloween fanatic, so finally releasing this is a perfectly splendid nightmare. I love all things creepy and sinister, and I wanted to experiment with music that allowed me to escape into a dark fantasy world. This EP is for the little Halloween-obsessed ARI who dreamed of having her very own spooky songs out in the world. I think she would be proud.”