With fewer reasons to celebrate, soul-singer Kelsey Wilson (Wild Child, Glorietta)  ditched the party vibe she planned for her maiden, solo debut in favor of a more  aptly titled record for troubled times. 

Bitch, a genre-bending, Motown-influenced five-song EP, is set for an Oct. 16 release under Wilson’s acid-trip inspired stage name on Austin’s Nine Mile Records.

Wilson’s backing band — drummer Amber Baker (Jon Batiste) and back-up  singers Spice and Roy Jr. — were joined on the album by guitarist Nik Lee and  multi- instrumentalist Dan Creamer (Shakey Graves, The Texas Gentlemen), and  critically acclaimed country-pop artist Robert Ellis. 

But make no mistake, the Wild Child co-founder has stepped into the spotlight  alone with this collection of love songs she wrote for herself as the perpetual party  of touring life started to spin out of control.

“This EP is me finding what makes me feel good and falling in love with myself. A  mix of everything that makes my body move — pop, soul, gospel, funk, folk, and  R&B. It feels so right to make a record that has my actual heart in it,” Wilson said.  “These songs are the part of me that wants to help people fall in love with  themselves through music. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it."

World Café’ declared “warmth, empathy and humor are the shining stars” of the  EP’s first track, “Highroad,” which earned a slot on NPR’s “Heavy Rotation: 9  Songs Public Radio Can’t Stop Playing.”

Consider that evidence Wilson is “moving effortlessly into a brave new R&B infused, gospel-flecked world where her golden pipes ease you back into a fluffy  pillow of serenity and bliss,” NPR critic Gini Moscorro proclaimed. In some ways, the EP’s title track, “Bitch,” set for an Oct. 1 release, took on new  meaning after the world shut down.   
When Wilson belts, “You’ve been a bitch, baby,” it’s as if a year at the crossroads  of coronavirus crisis and national civil unrest is the unintended target of the soul singer’s angsty honesty.