The accents on the layered rhythms of “Small Talk” by Kaput gives it an especially heady pace. The sawblade edginess of the synth sound frames the vocals well as they ring out and echo ever so slightly like there’s a bit of dub production to the whole song. Tones whorl and rattle, buzz and fry lending an era of menace and confrontation. It’s a song about complacency and how it can’t protect you forever. When atrocity is happening right in front of you in forms that only a completely delusional person could pretend is something else. The line “Break your neck to look away” speaks to the cost of this level of self-deception and the effort required. “The lies you tell/It’s gonna be ok/It’s all gonna be ok/It’s not you today/You’re not afraid” also hits hard. Without being topical it seems clear the song is about so much of what’s going on in the world right now and not necessarily the obvious subjects of genocide, fascism, political malfeasance, police brutality, the crushing reality of wealth concentration and hovering pandemics but also climate change and how that’s the elephant in every room. The song is just one of a debut album full of commanding songs that are an evocation of ambient anxiety, desperation, insecurity, anger and sadness running rampant. That album titled I was released April 25, 2025 digitally and available as limited edition vinyl. Listen to “Small Talk” on Spotify and follow Chicago’s Kaput at the links provided.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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