Kaeto – ‘Intro’ review: abstract alt-pop from Scotland’s finest

20 September, 2024

Kaeto, photo by press

Studying Kaeto is like studying an abstract painting: the more attention you pay, the better you’ll understand her. At first, she’s not easy to read – going to clown school isn’t common for your average 20-something singer, and her lyrics often go beyond typical ruminations on love and heartbreak. Off the back of supporting Lauren Mayberry to The Last Dinner Party after her 2022 debut single ‘Good Morning’, ‘Intro’ wastes no time in drawing back the curtain on Kaeto’s artistry.

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Opening track ‘U R Mine’, a song about Kaeto’s strengthened relationship with her body, is a tender start to aid a new era, her way of beckoning us into a safe corner of her mind. “It speaks to me / Hold your breath / Feel my skin / Until death”, she breathes over the top of a ringing keyboard riff, the misty intimacy of her words mustering a quiet power.

But Kaeto’s warmth quickly cools with ‘Distance’, a track smothered by damp organ and bass drum. Kaeto’s weightless vocal skates over the top as though, as the title suggests, she’s distancing herself from a threat that perhaps resides in her own self-consciousness (“You’re covered in pain / I know you hide it”). She pulls off the icy mood in a different way with ‘Hero’, whose fanned-out, synthesised arpeggios showcase her electro-pop side before falling back to let Kaeto’s voice take the reins.

A highlight of the mixtape is ‘Pacifist’, the instruments on which sound so crystalline that the listener all but floats along. The chorus’s assertive chord progressions are satisfying, and the song’s glassy guitar and keyboard notes flash with Kaeto’s cool confidence.

However, that’s not to say ‘Intro’ is flawless. ‘Alma’ is sweet, but energy levels are a little lukewarm compared to the rest of the mixtape whilst the house track ‘YOMM’ is slightly derivative.

But, true to its name, the mixtape is a solid introduction to Kaeto. This brew of polished synthesiser and eerie lyricism is crisp, confident and assertive. There’s no clowning around when we say this – she’s off to a flying start.