To Feel Alive EP - Kali Uchis: Review

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Kali Uchis 


is a Columbian pop singer who emerged with a number of high profile features in the middle of the last decade before releasing her own critically acclaimed debut album Isolation in 2018. Since then she has been relatively quiet aside from a feature or two and announced the release of this loose ends EP on Instagram a few days before its release.

Review By Lavender:
I have been really excited to hear more music from Kali since I enjoyed her debut record so much back in 2018. She proved with fantastic beat selection sensual slick performances and excellent features that she was more than capable of carrying a record as a primary artist. Given that this was an EP of demo and leftover tracks I didn't let my expectations get too high for it, and that was probably a good call because this EP is capable of carrying a vibe but doesn't do much else.

To avoid being too repetitive on such a short project I will say every song has pretty much the same strengths and weaknesses. The instrumentals and singing are often pretty and make for blissful moments, but the songs are incredibly underwritten and none have much beyond their repetitive core refrains. Honey Baby is a brief and breezy synth pop ballad that is sweet on the ears but short and ultimately doesn't do much of anything meaningful with its sound. Angel features some decent shimmery keys and a bouncy trap beat that make for a simple but easy to vibe to combination. It is probably my favorite of the songs here and the only real issue is have is that the track is just so repetitive for it to only go on for 2 minutes.

The second half doesn't really come with any improvements starting with I Want War a track that doesn't even have the same sweet or catchy elements as the other two. To enjoy this song you just have to be so head over heels in love with Kali's singing voice that you love hearing it in literally any context. Finally To Feel Alive is a return to form on the last song which is once again solid and features a pretty performance but is comically underwritten.

To Feel Alive is the first we have heard from Kali in two years but that doesn't warrant pretending the short collection of songs is anything it's not. These tracks are likely Isolation leftover songs or B-sides that were never fully fleshed out into proper tracks. While her aesthetic is in tact on the EP not one of the songs here holds up to most of what was on Isolation. 4.5/10

Album Cover review by Tyler Judson:
Fun concept and the illustration style is cute but it could’ve been so much cooler. This is a semi win for Kali. 6/10

For more slick pop music check out my review of Rina Sawayama's Sawayama here 

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