Album: Kali Uchis - Red Moon in Venus

Colombian-American singer Kali Uchis knocked it out of the park with the vibrant, eclectic global pop of debut Isolation, one of the best albums of 2018.

Since then, she's gained career traction via guest appearances with Gorillaz, Little Dragon, Mac Miller, and others, and consolidated things with a new, determinedly downtempo direction on the Spanish-language album Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios), and its breakout tune, “Telepatía” (nigh-on-800 million streams on Spotify). Her third album continues the trajectory, but mostly in English, a stoned bedroom affair of warm, squidgy, modern R&B production, that gradually becomes as much a sonic mood as a set of songs.

Uchis’ distinctive, hazy, slurred singing style emanates a quiet confidence and the sensuality of her music has a narcotic quality, its raunchiness undercut with something else, even when she’s dreamily telling us that her “petals are soft and silky as my sheets" or that there are “mirrors on the ceiling so I can watch you tap me”. Tonally, there is something Lana del Rey-ish about it, although the music is not similar.

The sound is woozy, dreamy and fluid, electronic gloop-funk, all soft edges and sleepy-sexy marijuana vibes, with guest appearances by big-in-America names such as Don Tolliver (Uchis’ boyfriend), Omar Apollo and Summer Walker. Most songs are over in under three minutes, many closer to the two-minute mark, but, as the album goes on, the songcraft is not as sustained as the well-wrought atmosphere. Unless listeners are indulging in the activities this album seems designed for, their interest may ebb.

Highlights include the space-funk of the single “Worth the Wait”, the beatsier self-empowerment of “Hasta Cuanda”, the especially baked “Not Too Late”, the trip hop ballad “Blue”, and the almost-dancey closer “Happy Now”. But, unlike Uchis’ previous work, Red Moon in Venus is more about an overall sensual trip than specific songs.

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Below: watch the video for "I Wish You Roses" by Kali Uchis