Released on Valentine’s Day, Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s new single ‘Espionage’ is a cynical take on love. Teased during their last tour and re-recorded in October 2024, it is their first single since their 2024 album Love Hate Music Box.
Starting with a unique mix of funky guitar strings and an irresistibly catchy chorus, ‘Espionage’ delicately employs musical contrast. The song juxtaposes lyrics about turbulent love against a lively, retro soundscape, reminiscent of Paramore’s After Laughter and the indie-funk grooves of Foster the People. This danceable production makes the entire track feel like a celebration of heartbreak, hiding uncomfortable truths beneath infectious rhythms.
The band’s powerful chant anchors the hook, “Everything we are (everything we are) / Everything is hard (is hard) / This is espionage / I spy your heart breakin”. With its beguiling melody and scathing lyrics, ‘Espionage’ turns heartbreak into a high-stakes game of spying and sabotage.
Beneath the perky production and playful metaphors is an honest look at toxic love. Candid lyrics such as “Blues are melancholic, and I’m tryna fill the void” describe the painful self-awareness that comes with bad decisions.
The song embraces its own uncertainty with the ambivalent lines: “Does he love me? He loves me, I don’t think that it’s a choice / I might flip a coin, I can’t hear you through the noise”. This sense of contradiction, in both the lyrics and production, brings us into the narrator’s love-sick psyche, serving as a stark contrast to the romantic ideals celebrated on Valentine’s Day.
Ultimately, the song nears its conclusion with the narrator finally letting their doomed love go, burning it to the ground, “Fire, light a candle, uh-huh / Like you’re heading up a mass / Me, I burn out everything / Including where you at”. The final part of the song takes us back to its playful hook “I spy your heart breakin”, a taunting refrain that reflects the end of the relationship, with the narrator finally taking back control. It’s a satisfying and clever way to end the track, with the chanting sounding more ominous upon each repetition.
With their knack for the unusual, ‘Espionage’ is a track that only Rainbow Kitten Surprise could make, never feeling obtuse despite the bold contrasts at play. If this is a taste of their new sonic direction, then fans should be very excited about their next steps, with their U.S. tour scheduled to start in May.
Words by Thomas Stanier
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