Hiatus Kaiyote returns much more focused, strengthened, and composed.
Hiatus Kaiyote’s debut was something that I admire quite a bit, the sort of Neo-soul that I like but keeps frustrating me with how long and meandering it gets especially in the midsection down to the back half as well as some composition and instrumentation risks that didn’t pan out that well. It’s frustrating because I do like the lyricism that they wrote out surrounding healing and love as it delves through darker tones that are taken from the nostalgia that Nai Palm clearly cherishes despite the tragic details.
But luckily, this album gets more focused and more immediate, and it’s probably their best project too. The subtle but still potent and distinct instrumentation is still here in spades but just not utilizing synthetic elements that didn’t really work on their past record, Nai Palm’s voice still is really sleek and powerful for the most part, and sonically this is just consistent from front to back. I love the ballads that crop up like ‘Red Room’, ‘Blood And Marrow’, and especially ‘Stone Or Lavender’, and the jauntier cuts like ‘Get Sun’, ‘Rose Water’, and ‘Chivalry Is Not Dead’
And for the lyrics themselves, it’s still in the same ballpark, focusing more on the positives and healing despite downbeat contexts. But the details are much more different here, it doesn’t have the reliance of the nostalgia that Choose Your Weapon circles around and is more focused on strength in love, either for a partner or the protagonist, although it also goes beyond that. That is why the title itself goes beyond the relationship arc that the lyrics present, and focuses also on Nai Palm’s strength after battling breast cancer in 2018 which resulted in this album being delayed and how she wants to focus on that healing and uplifting emotions despite that downbeat moment in her life.
And yep there are still flaws that I do want to point out, mostly in some production and melodic flubs. The rap-singing vocals on ‘All The Words We Don’t Say' didn’t do much for me despite that rapid groove, the bass compression on ‘Chivalry Is Not Dead’ is just plain distracting, ‘And We Go Gentle’ is pretty but feels a tad repetitive, and as much as I like the ragged vibe of ‘Sparkle Tape Break Up’ the background vocals just didn’t do it for me and comes off as a bit irritating.
At the end of the day, I find myself pretty satisfied with this record. It’s focused, consistent, soft but still emotive, and it’s just one of those records that I will come back to and put myself in a pretty relaxed mood. Yes, some production and melodic quibbles didn’t work out for me, but overall, I am just happy that this band released a new album after so long. Glad to have them back, I hope they’ll keep brightening things up as they go forward.
Favorite Tracks: Red Room, Stone Or Lavender, Blood And Marrow, Get Sun, Rose Water, Chivalry Is Not Dead
Least Favorite Tracks: Sparkle Type Break Up