Conan Gray’s debut album Kid Krow was released on March 20, 2020. To celebrate its five year anniversary, Conan decided to surprise drop an expanded edition of the album titled Kid Krow, Decomposed.Kid Krow, Decomposed includes all the songs from Kid Krow, as well as one unreleased song titled “Bed Rest” and the live concert versions of “The Cut That Always Bleeds” and “Heather (Lost Verse Edition)”.
“Bed Rest” is a beautiful new ballad that proves that beautiful things can be harmful, too. It explores the toxicity of a damaging relationship that desperately needs a break. The lyric “but now I need some bed rest to mend from all our trainwrecks” describes how Conan needs distance from the relationship. At the end of the song, Conan realizes that this will change him forever. This song was not what I was expecting at all, but I absolutely love it. Conan says that this song expresses his current state of mind, which makes sense considering that he recently got out of his first official relationship.
“The Cut That Always Bleeds – [Live]” is the same edition to the original, but is the live version from one of his Found Heaven on Tour concerts. “The Cut That Always Bleeds” has gained rapid popularity on TikTok in the past few months. It is incredible to see a song that I have claimed since 2021 to be getting the recognition it deserves. This is a song about how Conan’s love interest is damaging his mental health, proving it time and time again. Despite the red flags, Conan feels as though he cannot live without that person. The lyric “but even though you’re killing me, I need you like the air I breathe” says exactly that. Towards the end of the song, Conan ends up, once again, returning to his love interest, saying “I could be anything you need as long as you don’t leave”, also highlighting Conan’s ability to reshape himself to ease his fear of abandonment.
“Heather (Lost Verse Edition) – [Live]” is an extended version to Conan’s biggest hit, “Heather”. This song is, of course, from a concert, but also includes the original first draft of the second verse. “Heather” tells the story of how Conan sees his crush liking someone else (Heather). Throughout the song, Conan talks about his jealousy towards Heather, wishing he could be like her because she is perfect. The original second verse “I wish I could kiss her to know why you love her” exemplifies Conan’s need to know what it is like for his crush to like him back. “Heather” has reached almost two million streams on Spotify. There is no one more deserving than Conan of the success he has received for such an incredible song.
I could not be happier with Conan’s release. It came to me by total surprise. I am looking forward to Conan’s next releases!