Song of the Day | Kissy - "Killer Vibes"

Not all pop singers are plucked from a lineup of willing fresh faces, stuccoed with media training, PG-13'ed into a milquetoast mannequin and set adrift on the unforgiving astral plains of temporary fame. Some pop stars rise through the ranks of the backbenches, supporting the system, waiting for their one shot. Kissy (née Sasha Ortiz) has logged her hours as a backup singer for Sharon Jones and the Kills (both on tour and live) and looks to follow the paths of other famous stars who got their initial break in the fill light like Luther Vandross with David Bowie, or Katy Perry with (ahem) P.O.D. 

Although any outlet editor will tell you that his daily inbox is drowning in contemporary female singers who are generally going for a post-Grimes, vaguely electronic pop sound, some of them deserve a little more attention, and "Killer Vibes" the second single to come from Kissy in the last month, is likely one of them. It fits in that increasingly rare space between big room, Swedish-produced chart pablum, and the kind of ditty that belongs on nowhere but her friend's Tumblr page. "Killer Vibes" is catchy, but never makes you roll your eyes because of some hackneyed sweep or default synth plugin, and mostly that's all you can ask for in 2016 when it comes to this type of artist.