Kali Uchis is a Colombian singer/songwriter hailing from California, and is a name you’re about to start hearing more often. Although she does have an EP, which came out in 2015, she is most famous for her features with artists such as Gorillaz and Tyler, the Creator, both of whom return the favor by popping up in her new album, Isolation. In fact, a great way to describe this album would be a mixture of the two. It has the poppy and bright synths that can be found in Gorillaz songs, but has the relaxed, slow, and quirky instrumentals similar to what you would hear off of Tyler’s latest; Flower Boy.
Despite the pantheon of features and collaborators from groups such as BROCKHAMPTON to Tame Impala, Kali makes the album distinctly her own. Her vocals are always at the forefront and her Latin background is omnipresent; her song “Nuestro Planeta” is entirely in Spanish.
The final result ends up going over as well as you could imagine. It’s a very pleasing album that changes style ever-so-slightly with every song, just enough so it doesn’t become boring. The perfect example of this can be found in the opening two tracks “Body Language” and “Miami”, where the sleepy and groovy style of the first track is exchanged for guitars and a rap verse on the second, but still remains relaxed. “Miami” also introduces the listener to a lot of themes prevalent throughout the album: Kali’s connection to her homeland, and her struggles in the industry. She sings about overcoming the misconception that her sexuality has something to do with her determination, which led to rumors from her own family that she was a prostitute rather than a real artist. One of my favorite lines on the entire album is on this and sums this up well; “But why would I be Kim? I could be Kanye.”
Another strong point on the album is “Tyrant,” which is a powerful song about being in a toxic relationship, and wanting it to work out while dealing with pressure from the industry. The minimal production on this song helps keep focus on the lyrics, and has a wonderfully smooth transition between Spanish and English.
Overall, what seems to be holding back the album is the vocals. Kali’s vocals are never bad, but they lack range. She gives the same soft delivery for each song, which was never impressive to begin with and makes the album somewhat tedious.
However, that’s just the vocals, and the album doesn’t wholy rely on them. There’s smooth, fluid, dreamy production, features that melt and fuse perfectly into tracks, and some pretty insightful lyrics that keep the album going. Kali Uchi's Isolation is a 7 out of 10.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
special thanks to the people at The Scribe for editing this review.