Music We Love: "too old to trick or treat, too young to die" by candy and the suckers
For many of us, puberty was such an uncomfortably strange time that it is worth only remembering when you’re looking to tell a truly cringe-worthy story. However, Katie Reese took that confusing time and created an entire character-driven album from it.
Reese was planning on leaving Texas at the beginning of 2016 and found parallels in her recent graduation from college and puberty.
“I felt like my life was drastically changing into a whole new life, so I wanted to start a new project to go along with those feelings,” Reese says.
The persona of Candy is a pitchy twelve-year-old girl who is at once an annoyance and indicative of her times. She is very much a part of the culture she surrounds herself with, but is still a young kid learning the intricate details of every situation that she meets. This alter ego is in a constant state of experiencing puberty, and Reese attributes the perspective of the writing to Candy.
“Puberty is fun and not fun at the same time because you're in a weird transitional spot in your life where you were once someone and then you're on the way to someone else,” Reese says. “Sometimes I don’t know how to express sucky-ness up front, so I make fun of the situation instead—or at least make it lighthearted to where it doesn't seem so dramatic. Candy is a sassy person that makes fun of everything and jokes around but is still alert and aware of everything.”
Candy sometimes sings with friends—a number of local musicians, including Ashley Givens, Reece McLean, Grey Vracin, and more, contributed vocals and instrumentals to Candy’s explorations into the world. Just like sticking with your friends through puberty, Reese picked friends whose art she admires. She invited friends over on several separate occasions and just asked them to contribute without thinking too much.
For fans of Reese, the album is a slight release from the anger of her previous release “thin skin,” especially since Candy is, at her core, seeking love and understanding. This album is weird, dissonant, cacophonous—and at the same time, ridiculously catchy and attention-grabbing. It’s an innocent yet scandalous way to look into big character and life changes, and its raw yet finished nature gives the characters—and listeners—life.
The full album is available on Bandcamp.