Every once in awhile the music industry spits out an artist that seemingly has it all. That statement is no less true than for singer, songwriter, and producer Kali Uchis. Proving her talents on her breakout debut album in 2018 ‘Isolation’, which saw a masterful combination of musical influences and melding of genres. Since then, the music industry has been craving for the fully-fledged resurfacing of Kali and with her, her synonymous sensual presence. Kali, whilst not quite in the form of the anticipation of many, has returned with a taste of what will hopefully ensue with her brand new EP, ‘TO FEEL ALIVE EP’. Filling the void in the musical world of a lack of one of its most multifaceted inclined artists, the EP strives to bridge the space in between releases whilst standing tall as a testament to Kali’s artistic capabilities as its own material.
The EP wastes no time in establishing its core aspirations, as Kali sets forth blending musical palettes on the opening track ‘honey baby (SPOILED!)’. A trope that was present throughout ‘Isolation’ Kali excels in mixing these dreamy instrumentals that verge on the border of being candy cane pop with her profuse gestures and profoundly sensual presence. The track is ushered in by a gorgeous, dreamy synth passage assisted by a very visceral and surreal background accompaniment of chirping birds. The synth foundation has an innate hypotonic feeling that links to a larger sense of a utopian dreamlike world that resembles the soundtrack to either a nursery rhyme or Disney film. Kali vocally withholds a mystifying presence that is accentuated by her smokey tone. At times these confident, smokiness becomes a far more heavenly sound that is brought to life through her upper register embellishments that further progress the dreamlike qualities to the track.
The album takes a drastic turn sonically as Kali chooses to operate under the guise of a more synth-heavy, out of body sound on the second track, ‘angel’. Built upon a foundation of fluttering, ascending cascading synths, and a bubbling resonant bass that truly beefs up the instrumental mix the track is a completely new venture from what was present on the predecessor. Kali’s vocals take a far less prominent factor in this track, utilising her fainter, more angelic sound she truly embodies the title of the song vocally. Kali relates a surreal and enriching connection to the uplifting and enlightening sensation of being high on life, separated from an otherwise plain reality. This is truly felt through her ascending vocal refrains which trail off in an ascending pattern, layered in a manner made to represent this truly euphoric feeling. Unfortunately, the track suffers from it’s tedious and one-dimensional lyrical substance during the chorus as it relies on the gimmick of repetitiveness to hammer home the song’s themes of a spiritual rising.
On the track ‘i want war (BUT I NEED PEACE) the product of Kali’s torn and emotionally worn character comes to fruition. Honing in on her writing craft Kali describes a split in desires as she is whittled down to an indecisive status after insanity is bestowed upon her through a testing relationship. The track feels very raw and personal as a result of this and is littered with a wealth of emotive language that truly invokes her pain. Despite the heavy hand thematic concerns of the song, it’s instrumental heroes a very dreamlike, grand piano melody. Regal and sophisticated in nature, it serves as a very refined element of an otherwise split song. The track features some evidently Latin inspired percussion which brings a subtle fiery flair that’s needed to give the song the necessary edge. Paired with Kali’s more ghostly and mystifying vocal performance, the song is an elevated demonstration of both artist evolution and variation as it serves as yet another shift in the EP’s sonic direction.
The closer of the EP is consequently the final chapter of the retelling of Kali’s tragic interaction and experience with love. ‘TO FEEL ALIVE’ is the aftermath of her detailed journey which she unapologetically refuses to leave unturned. Lyrically she describes her devoted and affectionate dedication to love and how this has emotionally scarred her, leaving her in a numb and dull state. The track features Kali’s most theatrical and expansive vocal performance on the EP, as she incorporates these emotive background phrases that add a grandiose feel. The depth of the lyrics are brought to life by just how emotionally invested and unsettling Kali’s ghostly and reverberated vocals are. Unfortunately, the track isn’t without its shortcomings, as it suffers at the hand of a half baked instrumental. Whilst there is a gorgeous essence to the bouncy and elegantly ascending string, it fails to evolve into anything more, becoming a stale and one-dimensional presence. On top of this, the track relies on the same repetitive lyrical gimmick that plagued the track ‘angel’, sacrificing details and variation in an attempt to hammer home the song’s core thematic concern.
Kali Uchis feels as if she pushes the boundaries of an EP on ‘TO FEEL ALIVE EP’. With a clear demonstration of her natural progression as an artist, the 4 track release really delivers a spectrum of talent alongside a healthy variation of musical palettes. Even more impressive is the cohesion of the narrative that is evoked and created through the tracklisting within such a compact release. Packed with some truly gorgeous moments and littered with evident maturity vocally this release truly feels like the beginning of something grand. Of course, it isn’t without its blemishes, what with the lackluster songwriting and hook development, as well as a few minor shortcomings in terms of production, the EP still has a certain charm and quality that makes it all the more revisitable. Whilst this final assessment must be taken with a grain of salt as it remains relative to the EP format, Kali still truly impresses, managing to pack a whole lot into just a little.
TO FEEL ALIVE EP – Kali Uchis – 7/10
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