TRACE Unveils Sophomore EP ‘LIKE HELL’

LA-based songstress TRACE has announced her sophomore EP ‘LIKE HELL’, out 4th October via Ultra Music.

A six-track project, ‘LIKE HELL’ opens with lead single ‘All My Friends’, a wistful ballad TRACE previously explained was written after she decided she was going to “full-heartedly pursue” a career in music. This vibe continues throughout the EP, with ‘Missing Me’ tapping into the emotions that follow a difficult breakup, while single ‘Make Me Laugh’ continues in a similar vein. Closing things out, title track ‘Like Hell’ provides the EP’s most delicate moments – with sparse instrumentation allowing TRACE’s soft vocals to take centre stage.

Growing up in Orange County, California, the daughter of Carol Kim (known as ‘the Tina Turner of Vietnam’), TRACE never planned to follow her mother’s footsteps and pursue a career in music. She picked up an acoustic guitar for the first time as a teenager, but didn’t begin writing songs until her freshman year of college. TRACE found her voice in writing songs, and since then, music has become a personal calling that she hasn’t turned away from.

In 2016, TRACE brought her first EP ‘Low’ to life through a Kickstarter campaign. The four-track project earned her comparisons to the “west coast cool of Lana Del Rey” and the “R&B-kissed ruminations of James Blake,” as well as over 20 million streams and her first record deal.

In early 2018, TRACE made her Ultra Music debut with her single ‘Blood and Bones’, followed by the release of two more singles ‘Side Eye’ (which was featured on The Fader‘s fall list of ‘Best New Pop Songs’) and ‘Anxiety’ which premiered on Forbes. For the latter, TRACE partnered with the California chapter of non-profit organisation National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) to raise awareness on anxiety in the entertainment industry. The partnership included limited-edition merch being sold through TRACE’s site with proceeds benefiting NAMI.

One of the brightest lights to emerge from the west coast music scene in recent years, ‘LIKE HELL’ is a coming-of-age EP that will only enhance the hype that surrounds TRACE.