ERIN GIBNEY - Kryptonite - Rock Ridge Music

Since first breaking onto the country music scene with “Easy Like That,” Erin Gibney has unapologetically walked the fine line down the middle of her modern country flavoring, carefully dipping a toe in the waters of a purely pop induced song from time to time to really challenge any pre-conceived comfort zones or restrictive borders.

Transparently pulling from the diary of her own life, the rising starlet spent the better part of 2023 fine-tuning her overall sound into a perfect bend of pop and country that melded her strongest attributes into a signature dynamic on songs such as “You Made Your Bed” and “Exit Signs,” balancing the feelings of anxiety and heartbreak within the highlight of normal 20-something issues.

She now continues pushing those boundaries with her first release of 2024, “Kryptonite.”

Written by Erin and Nell Maynard, the simplicity of the accompanying guitar ladens itself snuggly within a pop injected backbeat to hold the addictive melody so that it expertly allows the spotlight to shine on the innocence of Gibney’s voice as she tallies the confusing feelings that arrive when your heart begins to fall for your best friend while knowing that it’s only going to end poorly.

Singing on the opening lines of how she doesn’t want to end up broken hearted again, she then masterfully digs through the internal struggles with confessions to a confused headspace whenever he brushes his fingers on her hand, how the way he looks at her makes her good sense go away, etc.

Straddling the anxiety of keeping one foot on the side of the line that says jump right in while the other boldly stamps its place on the side of it that says don’t allow yourself to fall, the sway along vibes that enhance the lift of the chorus fully encompass the height of her internal struggles as her emotions race during that front-porch, moment when he almost gets her defenses to completely come down:

“I don’t wanna mess this up

Done that a million times

I’ve ruined a delicate love

By crossing a dotted line

So, let’s call it a night

And I’ll go back inside

You feel too good to fight

Cause you’re my kryptonite

You’re my kryptonite.”

Poetically crafted around such a common emotion, “Kryptonite” reaches straight through the speakers to reach the heartstrings of her core, 20-something demographic, her peers who are experiencing these very same feelings. With such a strong, common connection factor working alongside an uber-catchy melody, Gibney kicks of 2024 with a song that will no doubt elevate her status yet again as she takes another solid step ahead on her path.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)