Minneapolis-based solo producer KB-S invites us into his heart and head with Altered States, a genre-blurring debut that dropped on July 25, 2025. With no collaborators in sight, this album is KB-S through and through, from the glimmering synths to the hypnotic hip-hop beats, and every delicate emotion in between.
The opening track, โMesmerized,โ kicks things off with a twinkle of piano melodies riding on a thick, steady beat. Soft female vocals flutter in and out, wrapping the ears in a warm, late-night serenity. Then, without skipping a beat, weโre pulled into โHypnotized,โ which feels like getting lost in a lucid dream. The tight percussion, a sleek electro finish, and even a glitched-out brass section suddenly drop you into full cinematic drama, which slaps like a pop banger.
By the time โCaptivatedโ rolls around, youโre knee-deep in KB-Sโs dreamscape. The guitar riffs trail like soft smoke, layered over beats that trot along with a lazy elegance. And then thereโs โSmitten,โ the softest, most vulnerable cut of the bunch. A floating harp motif drifts through the entire song, making you feel like youโre suspended in a calm that only comes after a storm of feelings.
The emotional core of the album is all about that altered state when you are so wrapped up in someone that reality begins to slip at the edges. Altered States captures that strange, all-consuming haze between infatuation and obsession. Check it out on Spotify.
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Review by: Naomi Joan