User:Prism/Outta Time

"Outta Time" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Natalia Kills for her second studio album, Trouble (2013). It was unveiled on August 26, 2013 through a Polydor promotional newsletter, and was later released on September 3, 2013 as the album's second promotional recording, as the iTunes' Single of the Week. Musically, it is a retro pop soul-tinged song that recalls Phil Spector's catalog, complete with guitar riffs and supporting vocals while its lyrics tell a sad love story.

Upon the release of Trouble, "Outta Time" received many positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who highlighted its sound. To promote it, a lyric video was released, featuring Kills in front of a background with images of clouds, and Kills has also performed it for Yahoo! Music.

Background and composition
"Outta Time" was released twice as the album's second promotional single, following "Controversy". It was first available online via a Polydor Records/Universal Music France promotional newsletter, put online on August 26, 2013, in which the song would be offered to the user should he provide his email address. Later, on September 3, 2013, it was put on the iTunes Store under its own page with new artwork, coinciding with the official release of Trouble.

Musically, "Outta Time" is a retro Motown inspired love song, that is styled in the genre of pop soul, which is reminiscent of the catalog of American recording artist Phil Spector. It was also described as recalling 60s girl groups. The song contains prominent background vocals and forlorn guitar riffs. Kills' vocals in the song recall those of Dusty Springfield, with rawness. Sam Johnson noted that the song, much like other Trouble tracks, plays as if it was in a vinyl or a "scratched up" compact disc. Its lyrical content depicts a melancholy love story: "We've been driving down this road since I was seventeen / You could tear my heart like pages of a magazine / But now your photograph has faded and my bed is cold at night / And I wish that love could save us, but we're outta time."

Critical reception
Upon the release of Trouble, "Outta Time" received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who praised its sound. Reviewing the album for So So Gay, Sam Johnson was very positive of the song, deeming it an "indication of Kills' musicality", and favoring Kills' vocals as opposed to what he thought of them in other album tracks. He also called it "refined and soulful", and "cleansing". He went on to pick it as one of the album's standouts. Sam Lansky from the website Idolator classified it as one of the "instantly likable moments" in the album, and a "perfectly solid throwback". Bradley Stern from MuuMuse singled out "Outta Time" and "Boys Don't Cry" as the album's "biggest surprises" for their "throwback soul" sound; opining that they put a "fresh spin on vintage sound" and likened their "big, pure pop" choruses to those present in The Ronettes' songs.

Lyric video and live performances
Following the single release on iTunes, a lyric video for "Outta Time" was released on September 4, 2013 via website Idolator, though an official release on Kills' VEVO/YouTube channel only took place on September 11, 2013. It features Kills standing in front of a "cloudy" background, wearing different outfits, which Sam Lansky from Idolator thought was "fierce fashion", while she is also seen whipping her ponytail in other scenes. Kills revealed to Clevver Music that she originally came up with the idea of holding balloons in the video, describing that it could transmit that the video symbolized a party, but that it was also "sad". She described the video as a "visual interpretation of [what the song] could be".

To promote Trouble, Kills performed "Outta Time" for Yahoo! Music.

Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Trouble.


 * Personnel
 * Songwriting – Natalia Kills and Jeff Bhasker
 * Production – Jeff Bhasker
 * Guitar – Jeff Bhasker
 * Keyboards – Jeff Bhasker
 * Programming – Jeff Bhasker
 * Background vocals – Jeff Bhasker
 * Engineering – Jeff Bhasker
 * Mixing – Jeff Bhasker
 * Mastering – Chris Athens


 * Recording places
 * Recorded at Enourmous Studios (Los Angeles, California)
 * Mastered at Chris Athens Studios (Austin, Texas)