It’s finally here. In the same month that she finished the Wishful Thinking Tour with the Northern Pop Girlies, Beth McKenzie blessed her listeners with a beautiful deluxe edition of her EP Does This Make Me a Bitter Woman? With additional tracks, "Catching the Next Train" and "My Skeleton Mocks Me," we are taken through darkness and release as McKenzie unapologetically explores her own challenges with relationships and health.

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The original EP was released last November, with its lead single "Don’t Tell My Boyfriend" quickly gaining popularity. The track addresses queer repression and the pain of being someone’s secret. Energetic pop anthem "She’s Finally Lost It!" followed as the second single, matching the energy of the project’s empowering, almost spiteful opener, "The Cult." Both tracks are catchy and highlight the fun side of the chaos McKenzie lyrically embodies. The third single, "Inside Out," is raw and cathartic, much like the original closer for the project, "It Won’t Always Feel So Heavy."

 

The deluxe tracks follow seamlessly from the message she leaves us with. A sweet, nostalgic sound with a deeper tone in the chorus, "Catching The Next Train" transports us into McKenzie’s feelings of simultaneous fear, moving on from relationships that don’t fit her anymore, with a hope for what comes next. The track combines honest acoustic guitar with synth-like sounds, revealing her raw, emotional side as she leaves the relationship behind, paired with nostalgic memories: “So watch me walk away, when all I want is to stay.”

 

A beautiful closing track to the deluxe edition, "My Skeleton Mocks Me," truly depicts how trapped the singer has felt within herself; it’s a song that will leave you with a physically heavy feeling, yet oddly mixed with a trace of optimism. It’s about losing hope amidst the recognition of pain endured. We’re haunted by the echoing sound, along with the piano, towards the end of the song. Vocals layer in the track in a way that is truly powerful, drawing attention to her lyrics. The song and EP conclude with a quiet sense of hope. McKenzie addresses her need to move on from the past and work towards feeling better.

 

With each track flowing perfectly into the next, Does This Make Me a Bitter Woman? offers a harmonious blend of addictive pop and raw emotion. Beth McKenzie brings us all the emotion, often conflicting, reflecting the true human experience. The project feels cathartic, bringing a quiet yet powerful sense of hope with it. If you enjoy dancing and crying simultaneously, Beth McKenzie’s name is one you won’t want to forget any time soon.