Katie Kim - Salt

Ostensibly, Katie Kim – the pseudonym of Kate Sullivan – is a Waterford-born singer and sporadic member of The Waterboys. Salt, her third full length album, is a work of staggeringly intense beauty which exists in a liminal space, stretching the parameters of simple categorisation by setting fire to the centre.

At heart, Katie Kim is a songwriter and her previous work has lingered on the margins of modern folk. But Salt illuminates and ignites her songwriting pedigree to a brilliant new level; these nine vignettes align craft and technique with outright innovation. Most excitingly, the textures are almost tangible in their ferocity – piano chords are stretched and strung out to infinity, silence is employed as devastating punctuation and Kim’s own vocals are soothing and empathetic while also sounding a million light years away.

And therein lies the tension at the heart of Salt, the album flirts with extremes, making these extremes feel incredibly seductive. Cinematic in scope and tectonic in delivery, Salt is a richly rewarding and profoundly intense listening experience. 

Listen to: Day Is Coming, Life Or Living