Released April 6, 2018
8.5 / 10
Favorites
Miami (feat. BIA), Dead To Me, Feel Like A Fool, Killer
Least favorite
Tomorrow
Kali Uchis' debut is a plush lava lamp of a record, blending genres and styles with remarkable fluidity without ever compromising her vision for anyone else's sake. "Isolation" is driven by the idea of escapism set to a backdrop of harsh realities - no wonder it seeks musical freedom at the same time, not content with one specific point in time to serve as an anchor to the ambitious project. More than ever before, Kali's vocals dare venture in new turf, cooing freely as they please throughout. The self-assuredness and quiet confidence Kali projects testifies to her coming into her own artistically and personally, reaching goals she set herself and going beyond them - she self-advertises herself as her own harshest critique and it seems that her standards are widely as high, if not higher, than the professionals whose penmanship can nip emerging careers in the bud. In a word, "Isolation" is lush - as rich as the blue velvet that adorns the album cover. Its fullness suggests a self-contained universe of which the delimitations are painted by Kali herself, with the help of an impressive line-up of high-profile collaborators. No matter how established they are, Kali manages to stay in charge throughout a consistently great album - only letting a collaborator dim her light on one of the tracks out of fifteen. Aside from that one blip, Kali glides through an odyssey, exploring the need for dreaming when reality weighs down too heavily on the soul. She sails through her debut with determination, never repeating herself or losing track of the azimuth that leads to even greater expanses for her craft.
"Isolation" indulges in contrasts between candied melodies and dark subject matters, satirically highlighting absurdities and sardonically accepting her circumstances to grow beyond them. Flight 22 describes an intense relationship on a course to crash. Its deceptively sweet arrangements compliment lyrical references to a 1967 mid-air collision that killed 82 individuals. The neo-soul soothing lullaby starts with a cinematic sequence, finding Kali playing the role of a flight attendant, as she welcomes the listener aboard Flight 22. Supported by the iconic Dap-Kings and in-house producer Wayne Gordon, the music has an old-timey vintage quality, full with strings and glockenspiel. The track closes satisfyingly with an outro that opens up new melodic lanes in its very last moments. Your Teeth In My Neck takes on vampiristic corporate greed that profits from artists and employees at large. Without ever sounding patronizing or tone-deaf, Kali complains "What do I do it for? / I've been working so hard just to give you more" before including others in her grievances ("Kill us all off, they'd take our worth they pay us dirt / Is it worth it? Is it worth it?", "Rich man keeps getting richer, taking from the poor"). Backed by live-jazz band Wldrness, the melodies bounce around, rooted in a delightful bass line and enhanced by brisk keys on the chorus. The bridge is a bit confusing, throwing in lyrics that are hard to connect to the overarching narrative before returning to its main topic - "Don't you wanna get to know you" sounds sticked on like a placeholder that slowly sank into the song's fabric and escaped ulterior revisions. A personal favorite, Dead To Me shows just how savage Kali will get. She dismisses what could be an ex-lover to a deceptively cheery sound while dropping zingers left and right ("So don't come for me unless I send for you" - ouch -, "You're dead to me / You're obsessed, just let me go" - damn -, "You're mad at everything I do / But what are you up to? I haven't a clue" - dang (!)). It's one of the catchiest song on "Isolation", set to resonating synth and background vocals. The bass line is incredibly infectious and Kali sounds as self-assured as can be. The way she delivers punchlines with an astounding cool is no easy feat yet it sounds like it's second nature. In Feel Like A Fool Kali comes to terms with learning of her lover's infidelities and struggles to let him go. The jazz-pop track brings 60s girls groups to mind, entertaining an uptempo cheerful melodic line while addressing betrayal and pain (it doesn't get more graphic than "My heart went through a shredder"). The tune has been given a live performance quality with only one vocal layer and no glossy production touches. It's also a great occasion to hear play with her vocals more than usual.
The contrast between the jaunty melodies and grave lyrics is largely a symptom of a conceptual dichotomy Kali explores throughout the bulk of "Isolation". She paints the self-portrait of a dreamer and a realist at the same time. Dreaming provides reprieve from the turmoil of reality but the respite is short-lived. In fact, the music lives in a gray area between the realm of dreams and harsh doses of reality. Miami reveals a propensity for daydreaming as a tool of self-preservation Kali has resorted to since childhood. She sings "When I was just a little girl / Had my sight on a bigger world" and speaks truth to power, notwithstanding sexist criticism thrown her way - and throwing a little shade along the way: "But why would I be Kim? I could be Kanye". This is one of the track where she sings with quiet confidence most naturally. Her delivery is nonchalant, lingering on notes to a slow keys processional. The tune is backed up by trap beats so subtle that they sound more like chirping crickets than the usual overbearing presence atop many contemporary pop compositions. Despite its slow cadence, Miami oozes the rush of the chase across the Magic City. In My Dreams contrasts her life at the time of writing with the life she knew growing up, juxtaposing the idyllic and the dreadful. She dreams of "never stressing my bills, nobody ever gets killed", "my mama's never on coke, this isn't my way to cope" - suggesting a very bleak reality in contrast. The surrealist synth-pop reverie is made even more dreary lyrically by Damon's lines: "The moments we are happiest / Are the moments that we don't exist". Nonetheless if you pay the lyrics no mind, the track sounds bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, chirpy and bouncy. The Gotta Get Up interlude suggest a need for tangibility - while acknowledging the pull of temptation to dream. It starts off with "I'm getting tired of sleeping in / But you're much better in my dreams" and ends with the plea "Get me something real". The music mimics the awakening with a beat that snaps so good you'll most likely want to replay the track a couple of times.
Through all the changes of pace and style, Kali is always in charge, even in the presence of high-profile collaborators. She performs with such charisma that her own magnetism holds the pieces together for the most part. The album's opener Body Language draws the listener in - with sensual calls to "come closer" - to a bossa nova backdrop. She doesn't let her appetite for musical adventures impede on her trademarks, going in every direction she deems fit. Even Nuestro Planeta, a tropical-reggaeton latin pop track, doesn't sound like made out of compromise to accommodate a larger audience - even if it's one of the less exciting tracks on "Isolation" and could've done with a less overbearing beat. The soulful final track Killer has Kali settling for reality rather than dream, almost mocking her own naiveté ("Forever is for dreamers") in the face of harsh realizations ("Our future's battered and bloody, you're so fucking ruthless"). The song sounds like the recording of a live performance - similar to Feel Like A Fool. While the latter has earned Kali many comparisons to Amy Winehouse, I find the former to be the more appropriate point of comparison. Killer is much more emotionally potent yet precise and laying bare audible aesthetic preoccupations - qualities I would attribute to Amy's strongest work. Killer oozes pain in a very manicured way. The Dap-Kings' conga, saxophones, trumpet and cello accompany the timeless melody beautifully - again, never questioning who the track belongs to. Tomorrow is the exception that proves the rule in this regard. Kevin Parker's psychedelia imbues the track through and through. The story is undeniably Kali's, again presenting escapism ("Let's get out of this hopeless town") as an answer to bleak prospects ("Daddy said he needed money, so he put her on the street / She had just turned thirteen, got a family to feed"). However, the collaboration doesn't feel very organic sonically: the vocal effect atop Kali's voice is too strong, the verse's melodic line is unlike any on the record and elements blend in one another so inextricably you'd need shears and a machete to pick it apart. The spoken word outro also feels unnecessarily dramatic and the superimposed "come on let's go"'s off-pitch quality is... a choice.
All in all, "Isolation" is a testament that Kali has arrived. No fanfare needed, as she sings "I'm coming home, coming home" on the interlude of the same name, keeping negative energy at bay with a touch of humor ("And bitches bark. but they don't bite at all"). She's pulling a chair and seating at the table on her own terms. There's no rushing the process to a follow-up to this outstanding debut, Kali makes it clear: "I move at my own pace, just leave me alone".
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