Behind: My Reckless Abandon
Written By Alannah Cannon
The new artist rising to fame, Bella Kay, released her debut album ‘My Reckless Abandon’ on the 12th of July 2026. She first released the lead single ‘iloveitiloveitiloveit’ in January 2026, which blew up and charted in several top 100’s, including number one in Ireland. A fantastic taste of this album.
‘My Reckless Abandon’ is an indie-pop album consisting of thirteen songs; ‘Blur’, ‘Promise?’, ‘Say it Say’, ‘karaoke’, ‘iloveitiloveitiloveit’, ‘STOP’, ‘swu’, ‘Sleep For Dinner’, ‘mindf*ck’, ‘tongue’, ‘marrow’, ‘A Father’s Lament’, and ‘i deserve better.’ Even just taking a look at the titles all together, the layout and punctuation is very chaotic, some start with capital letters, some don’t. ‘STOP’ is all capital letters, ‘iloveitiloveitiloveit’ is all small letters and it runs together. ‘swu’ is just abbreviated. There is a question mark in ‘Promise?’ but I believe the most significant one is the final song, ‘i deserve better.’ All small letters with a full stop. The full stop is quite blunt, cutting off the phrase, but also ending the album, which is very clever. I believe the chaos of the titles are intentional, mirroring the chaos of the album cover in conjunction with the chaos of being young, and Kay’s life itself, which is a recurring theme throughout this album and her music in general.
Kay’s music is personal to her, while also being relatable to others. Each song might mean something different to every person who listens, but the beauty of music is its interpretation and the way it connects people. Referring to this album, Bella says, “When people listen to it, I hope they recognize themselves and their own experiences.”
Bella Kay first blew up on Tiktok, posting singing videos with just herself and her guitar, which is also where I personally discovered her music as well and fell in love with her incredible voice. Her first hit song ‘The Sick’ features the reality of a toxic romantic relationship, where the theme of relationships is continued in ‘My Reckless Abandon’.
In this album, Kay explores more intimate relationships such as in ‘Blur’, ‘karaoke’, ‘STOP’, ‘swu’, and ‘tongue’. She also continues the theme of more toxic relationships in ‘Promise?’ ‘Say it Say’, ‘iloveitiloveitiloveit’, ‘mindf*ck’, ‘marrow’, and ‘i deserve better.’. There are two songs which I didn’t mention above, ‘Sleep For Dinner’ and ‘A Father’s Lament’. These anomalies are different from the rest of the album. ‘Sleep For Dinner’ highlights struggles with eating using some very clever wordplay. ‘A Father’s Lament’ is a beautiful song, beginning with her fathers voice as she goes on to sing about him, his advice and the struggles of growing up black. The only criticism I have is that this song in particular doesn’t really fit in with the others. Especially with titles like ‘swu’ and ‘tongue’, ‘A Father’s Lament’ seems out of place. When I first listened to the album I was a little bit surprised at the sudden change in subject. However, Kay has said “I hate albums that only talk about one thing, so it was important to me to kind of cover different topics.” Which is understandable, but I feel as though even if there were a couple other songs that also covered her childhood and perhaps self image to go along with ‘Sleep For Dinner’, they wouldn’t feel so out of place.
Bella Kay was known for her accompanying acoustic guitar which suits her incredible voice perfectly. The simplicity of the guitar allows her clear voice to stand out. She is very vocally talented and you can hear the emotion laced in her voice every time she sings. Her lyrics are always spot on and flow amazingly, to the point you start to wonder how does she even come up with them?
In ‘karaoke’, Kay experiments with heavier bass, synthesisers and even tempo. The tempo slows as we enter the chorus and speeds back up afterwards. Along with the distorted electric guitars and catchy riffs, it all works together perfectly. It is different from her usual style, but I personally think it is amazing and I would love to see her explore this side of her music more.
Similarly, Kay experiments with different techniques in ‘tongue’. She adds a low pass filter to the track in the first few lines, giving the effect of being under water. She also adds effects to her voice at different points in the song. Again, it is slightly heavier and more electronic than most of her other music, including using synthesisers, and trap-like drums in the chorus. I particularly enjoy the vocal layering and adlibs in this song.
Bella Kay premiered a powerful music video for ‘i deserve better.’ on the 27th of July 2026. This song features the realisation that “It’s not my fault”, which is repeated in the outro, thus ending the album. I think that this is a powerful message, especially to young women, and I love that it has been included in the album and it really is the perfect closing song. After the journey that Bella Kay brought us on, gaining raw insights into her life, and sharing her experience, I can imagine that it has helped a lot of people and will continue to do so.
In the music video, Bella remains trapped in an empty wooden room until the turning point of the song in the second chorus, “I love to blame myself, it's all on me when it goes to hell, but this time, I don't think that's true”. It’s like it needed to be said twice before she could believe it, and then she could escape the room where she ran out into the street in the pouring rain. She even observed herself, like one might look back on a memory. Just like the self reflection evident throughout the song.
As far as debut albums go, ‘My Reckless Abandon’ really does stand out. It is insane to think about what Bella Kay has achieved at only twenty years old as an artist, it makes me excited for what is to come. I have given this album a four star rating because I think it is incredible, but it could maybe be a little bit longer with songs that continue the themes presented in ‘Sleep For Dinner’ and ‘A Father’s Lament’. There is no doubt in my mind that this album will only grow in popularity along with Bella Kay herself.