r/kelela

Let me start with, I’m a long time Kelela fan. I’m loving New Avatar, and generally, have loved almost every release. Raven is the exception. There’s always been a disconnect for me when it comes to it as a complete body of work. I love certain songs from it, for sure, (Let it Go & Closure) but the album is hard for me to vibe with - which I know is ok, but! Because I’ve been revisiting it lately and still feel the same as I do on first listen, I’m curious to know what the album means to those that love it. What are your favorite songs, why are they your favorite? And what do you feel when you listen to the album from beginning to end? Appreciate everyone’s thoughts in advance! I want to listen again with a new perspective, if possible!

Hii, nobody asked for this, but as soon as I saw that new avatar has 12 tracks, my brain started ticking and I started wondering where each zodiac sign might fit in this album. (TLDR: scroll down for the matches 👽)

Doing this exercise actually made me realize that while the album can map onto all 12 archetypes, the dominant energies I personally feel throughout it are fire and water — identity, desire, emotional intensity, transformation, and rebirth. In fact, I actually had Scorpio pegged for A LOT of songs at first when doing my first pass, which makes sense because Scorpio carries such an intense, transformative energy just like this album.

Before getting into it, a little about my perspective (because obviously that influences how I interpreted the songs): I'm a Pisces Sun/Moon/Mars (lol, a lot of Pisces placements), Aquarius Rising, and Capricorn Venus. So my interpretations definitely come through that lens, but I tried to approach each song based on its themes, lyrics, and emotional energy.

Here are my matches:

1. idea 1 — Aries ♈️

• The spark before creation. Burning down, starting over, and the moment right before something new is born.

2. point blank — Leo ♌️

• Self-realization, confidence, personal power, and the desire to be seen.

3. goin down — Taurus ♉

• Holding onto something valuable, processing disappointment, and confronting the lack of honesty/stability in a relationship.

4. outta time — Virgo ♍

• Analyzing what went wrong, reevaluating the foundation of a relationship, and realizing something needs to change.

5. against me — Pisces ♓

• Emotional understanding of both sides, compassion, and recognizing that there is more than one perspective or possibility.

6. crystalize — Cancer ♋

• Emotional memory, attachment, vulnerability, and wanting to make something fleeting become permanent. Cocooning.

7. retaliation lullaby — Libra ♎

• Weighing options, questioning when to walk versus when to fight, and seeking fairness (including fairness toward yourself).

8. linknb — Sagittarius ♐

• Expansion, self-discovery, and launching yourself toward something bigger. Return of personal fire.

9. don't piss me off — Scorpio ♏

• Desire, intensity, power, and that playful-but-serious magnetic energy.

10. new life forms — Aquarius ♒

• Transcendence, detachment from the familiar, experimentation, and evolving into something completely new. Also.. yes, the title itself

11. the bridge — Gemini ♊

• Communication, duality, playful relationship energy, and of course Kelela + PinkPantheress as the Gemini twins 👯‍♀️.

12. if we meet again — Capricorn ♑

• Considering the "what if," but ultimately accepting reality. Standing on business, recognizing effort matters, and moving forward. One final note on the relationship.

Anyway, this was just a fun thought experiment. Let me know what you agree/disagree with! I'd love to hear other interpretations of this introspective (and very fun) album through this lens 👽

P.S. For the astrology nerds (like me :P), I'll add a comment breaking down how the elements and modalities evolve and move through the album.

1. Take Me Apart

2. new avatar

3. Raven

4. Hallucinogen

5. Cut 4 Me

oscar scheller is responsible for the production across most of new avatar and has also produced a ton of other hits (doe-eyed rebecca black, candyland natanya, lots of shy girl as well) including a majority of pinkpantheress’ fancy that.

a critique i had of fancy that and a critique i have of new avatar alike is that a lot of the songs are incredibly similar in their construction, almost to the point of repetitiveness and redundancy.

the entirety of new avatar only employing 2 main guitar styles, both of which you can hear on idea 1, made the album as a whole feel a bit one note to me, and that’s not to mention the overall lack of lyrical complexity on the album (looking at the bridge, outta time, point blank the hardest here, as good as all three of them are.)

i really do chock it up to his production style and presence on every song. i think a more diverse cast of producers could’ve really brought us more complex rock elements and im really hoping a potential remix album satiates that desire (was really hoping she’d combine the guitar with the industrial soundscape a la linkin park but those two roads barely meet, mostly intersecting at rnb).

despite all this, the album grows on me more and more by the day

So good. So right! Play "the bridge" on loop for the next hour? I MIGHT! It's wild how the 5 words just feel so powerful and maybe a bit femme fatale? I feel like an enchantress when I hear that chorus; it sounds so mysterious and lithe and irresistible. I had a similar vibe with "Contact" from the Raven album! I just really enjoy Kelela's body of work haha. I did not know there was a subreddit for her.

I've been listening to the last song of New Avatar on repeat to get the feeling, and it reminds me of how sad Kelela looks on the cover art. Kelela doesn't want to only be shown affection when her and her lover are alone but also to be showered with affection in public. I get the sense that she wants to be smothered - maybe even controlled a little bit 😏 - as long as it's by her lover. And if she doesn't feel that, she ends the situation (true power). She needs to know she's worth a fight over.

​I love you, Kelela.

Your fans love you.

The people your music touches the hearts of, Love You.

You deserve to be claimed in the light.

What do you guys think? Is "if we meet again" the most emotionally devastating closer she's ever given us because 🍒 ☕️ is pretty sad too.