“In Love With a Psycho” welcomes us to Kat Brix’s world of neon pandemonium

Love goggles are very real. The buzz of a new love often blurs red flags you usually wouldn’t miss. But once the newness wears off, the truth comes out. All it takes is a bit of separation to realise the person you’ve invested all your time into is actually manipulating you into who they want you to be. Danish pop artist Kat Brix used a similar experience to inspire her debut single, “In Love With a Psycho.”

Brix’s first single has been a long time coming. After getting her Bachelors in Electronic Music and Sound Design at the Danish National Academy of Music in 2021, she set out to create and release her own music. It’s taken years for her to realise her lifelong dream—years of writing, recording, producing—before finally being able to release her first song under her own label, Kattelicious.

“In Love With a Psycho” is a stellar introduction to Brix’s sound and image. With an ODESZA-meets-Kylie Minogue-meets-Britney Spears flair, the trap-electro-hyperpop song is energizing and invigorating. The hastened beat and chorused vocals give the song a nostalgic dance pop flair, akin to the thumping hooks of Cascada’s iconic “Everytime We Touch.” Brix went to the Spears School of Vocal Fry, and the Charli XCX School of Masking Pain in a Dance Pop Track: her swaggering persona and the song’s upbeat tone contradict the story of manipulation and control hidden in the lyrics.

Brix says the single “represents the feeling of repeatedly running into a wall, hitting it hard, falling down, and then getting up and running straight into the next wall.” Born from a broken off engagement, Brix uses blunt lyricism to portray herself stuck in the routine of toxicity she was too closed off from to fully acknowledge (“You’re lying to my face / I’m just lying to myself”). Hook “Thinking ‘Run, bitch, run’ but I’m stuck in the driveway” depicts Brix knowing what she needs to do to break free, but there’s something holding back from taking the first big step.

The track’s music video serves as a perfect introduction to Brix’s image. A fever dream of pink and orange, the video is the definition of hyper-saturated maximalism, complete with a Powerpuff Girls-esque heart tunnel, cutesy animation, and psychedelic overlays. Brix is seen rolling around the ocean surf break, head banging in an elevator spinning her neon orange braids like helicopter blades, and stuck in a 2000s-era TV screen. The video perfectly matches the chaotic energy of the song showing that there’s still room to party in hardship, and that getting out of these vicious cycles is a feat worth celebrating.