Now that we’ve had a couple days to digest Krewella’s most recent offering ‘Say Goodbye,’ here is my opinion on the song, the motives behind it and their new direction as a duo.
The sound can best be described as heavy metal EDM, and clearly expresses how discontent the sisters are about their split with Kris ‘Rain Man’ Trindl. It was heavily questioned how well productions of the singer/songwriting sisters would be without their main producer (Rain Man). ‘Say Goodbye’ demonstrates that they are capable in the studio, but still begs the question: how creative can they be in the long run without the same musical experience as their former band mate? Really hone in on the word ‘band’ by the way.
Titling the track ‘Say Goodbye’ was a pretty clear giveaway that the breakup is permanent. Each lyric further advances how strongly the girls feel that Trindl had plenty to do with the breakup, despite the public perception that they had forced him from the group. The chorus calls out Trindl to “take back the lies, before we say our goodbyes.” The track may be one massive call out, or just an artistic expression for any anger or disappointment, but perhaps it gave the girls some closure by getting to release their emotions through this song.
With their first single under their belt as a Rainman-less duo, as well as the confirmation that this breakup is real, it will be interesting to see where the Yousaf twins can take Krewella musically, and as a brand. ‘Say Goodbye’ does just enough to keep up any curiosity about what will come next. I’ll give Krewella a pass for this one because they obviously had a lot of inspiration to draw from the breakup. For now, however, I can’t help but remain skeptical about Krewella’s direction as they go forward, at least until we have another sample to work with.
This new single has left them plenty of room for growth and has opened the door to the possibility of a complete overhaul. Consider their new Soundcloud image, the newly designed Krewella’ logo, and the clear punk and metal influence in ‘Say Goodbye’; it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume they’re trying to develop a new identity for a fresh start. The heavy emphasis on the color black and the new logo are heavily suggestive of rock-n-roll star imagery in the past, and their new sound is undoubtedly an EDM-infused punk/metal cross-genre hybrid. As EDM continues to evolve into highly contested red ocean market, there is a necessity for brand identities to separate themselves from the pack, and this may be their way of doing it. The future of image of Krewella may no longer just be the attitudinal bad-girls with, but honest to goodness rock stars. Again, the breakup is an excellent source of inspiration for ‘Say Goodbye’ and its sound, but it will be interesting to see how they handle things going forward and where they draw new inspiration from (anything else about the drama with Rainman and fans are likely to get frustrated).
You can check out ‘Say Goodbye’ below (and make sure to read the lyrics to get a clearer sense of the girls’ frustration over the way things have turned out), but I implore you to take a peek at Krewella’s newly rebranded Soundcloud as well to really get a sense of the new look and develop your own opinions as to what they might be heading towards.
