On new track “End Of My Life”, Kailee Morgue unpacks the pressures of young adulthood. Anyone who’s reached a certain point in their 20s will know that life looks very different depending on who you are. One of your friends might be getting married, while the other solo travels the world, the other lives solely to party, and the other’s on a career drive just two steps away from being CEO. This tapestry of circumstances is one of the beautiful things about our younger years – there are so many options, but equally, look around and you may well think: “What the hell am I supposed to be doing?”
“End of My Life” sees the Arizonan alt-pop artist platform this pressure of feeling time’s scarcity despite being merely at the beginning of adulthood. Inspired by the “Bridget Jones Diary” book series, Morgue’s fears of getting older are brought to life by a light-horror-esque music video, both symbols of her long-standing love of light entertainment forms like ‘90s movies and soap operas. She channels this into her own brand of “coming-of-age” art which she uses to empower her inner teenage self and likely many young listeners of today.
The good news is that “End of My Life” is taken from Morgue’s newly announced debut album Girl Next Door – due on October 28th, and available to pre-order now, so the 24-year-old is set only to bless us with more music in the coming months.
Head below to read our chat with Kailee all about “End of my Life”, the “Bridget Jones’ Diary” series, and her anticipated debut record…
Hey Kailee, how are you? Where are we speaking to you from right now?
Hey! I’m actually doing great, I’m so excited to be doing this interview. I’m a huge fan of Wonderland, I’m currently in my apartment in LA cuddling with my pets!
What is your earliest memory of music?
My earliest memories of music have to be from camping/fishing with my family and listening to a lot of alternative radio which at the time consisted of a lot of Nirvana, Creed, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Alternative is still the genre I’m pulled toward the most!
You are hailed as an alt-pop artist! Who else are you loving in the alt-pop sphere?
There are honestly so many criminally underrated artists in the alt-pop sphere, lately I’ve been listening to Keni, Girlpuppy, Jordana and my boyfriend of course, Ricky Himself!
Congratulations on the release of “End Of My Life”! Talk to us about how this track came to fruition!
Thank you so much! This track was one that I wrote pretty quickly with the producer Keith Varon. I had fully emerged in my 90s/y2k rom-com binge and was reading the book series “Bridget Jones Diary”. I definitely made clear references to the books but it also became a lot more personal as I fleshed the idea out.
You say it is based on “Bridget Jones’ Diary”! Tell how the book inspired you.
Yes! I threw some details in the song that directly reference the books such as “stepping on the scale”, “smoke another pack” and “mad about the boy”. I just really connected with Bridget’s struggle with getting older and feeling like she was falling behind in her life. Being from Arizona, I know so many people my age that have a house and kids and is settling down so it was easy to relate to!
And, the track comes accompanied by one horror-centric visual! Are you a big fan of horror movies?
Horror is actually my favourite genre! I’ve dove into every Slasher franchise and it’s my favourite genre to read as well, so the title being “End of My Life” gave me the perfect opportunity to channel that 90s final girl vibe! In another life, I might have tried to be one of those girls in the horror movies so I thought, why not just make a 2-minute scary movie?
And, your debut album Girl Next Door is on the way! What can we expect from it?
It is! I’m beyond excited to have my first full-length project out, it covers so many bases sonically and conceptually that it feels like the most candid body of work I’ve released. I was so lucky to work with an amazing team for the visuals and got to do a “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” look for the cover!
Why did you choose the name, Girl Next Door?
Girl Next Door really felt like a perfect name for this project since it talks a lot about struggling with how people perceive me. I love embracing normcore and being myself versus being a more glamorous version of myself. So the title felt like a way to embrace just being a ‘normal girl’ but also poking fun at the idea that the girl next door is kind of strange and imperfect, hence the SFX makeup.
Do you have a favourite track from the album?
My favourite track changes so often, “Another Day in Paradise” was my favourite for a while and then “End of My Life,” now it’s the second track called ‘Arizona Pretty’ which talks about being a 10 in your hometown and a 5 in LA!
Aside from everything we have discussed, what else are you excited about this year?
I’m so excited to be doing a release show in my hometown which will be the first show I’ve ever done there. Phoenix is so special to me and this project feels rooted in the feeling I get when I visit home so I can’t wait for that and of course Halloween!