Sin Miedo (del Amor Y Otros Demonios) - Kali Uchis: Review
is a pop and R&B vocalist who first emerged with a number of high profile features in the second half of the 2010's. She followed this up by releasing her debut album in 2018 to massive critical acclaim for its refreshing songwriting and infectious genre blending. After releasing a quarantine EP earlier this year she announced the release of her 2nd studio album just two weeks before its release date.
Review By Lavender:
I really enjoyed Kali's debut album and it's best tracks Miami, Just A Stranger and Your Teeth In My Neck haven't left my summer rotation in the two years since the record came out. While I wasn't a huge fan of the lo-fi bedroom pop songs from Kali's EP earlier this year I was excited for this new record given the singles taking a distinctly latin direction in sound. The resulting album isn't perfect but is isn't bad either and at a breezy 34 minutes doesn't bring much of anything it doesn't need.
The record had 3 singles, two of which is among my favorite tracks on the record, the other may be my least favorite of the bunch. aqui yo mando came first and sounds just as great on the album as it did as a single. It's a latin trap blend with confident and slick performances from both Kali and Rico Nasty that I'm genuinely surprised hasn't become some kind of mega hit given how catchy it is. la luz is labelled as the records closing track and I like it quite a bit as well. It's a more R&B focused cut with another vocal feature that fits the songs aesthetic really well. I think I like it more on the record than I do as a single since it starts to feel like a nice way to wrap up some of the records sonic elements before a short stripped back closer.
The highlights don't slow down from here either as the albums first proper song is another hit in fue mejor. It's a smoky forlorn love ballad with a muted swagger all over absolutely everything in the mix. The track features a short but memorable appearance from Partynextdoor and it works as a mellow introduction to the album. vaya con dios is a standout moment on the record for Kali vocally as she soars over a pretty involved instrumental that rushes strings into the song like it's a Bond theme. The track is gorgeous and uncompromising and emerged as one of my favorites of the bunch. telepatia has the most compelling lyrical theme on the record focusing on its title idea of telepathy. It pairs an icy instrumental with a right groove topped off by a great performance from Kali to wrap it all up.
te pongo mal was released as a single and well, it's a bit of a mess. The features are incredibly underwhelming and the song is all built around this really generic beat that I can forget about while still hearing it. I think it tries to survive on personality alone but the lack of any good songwriting makes it a tough listen. aguardinte y limon is worth hearing if you really like fruit but other than that I don't care for it much. Kali runs through a series of fruit analogies based on her life and feelings of love. The song is kind of sweet but the instrumental is completely uninvolved and doesn't leave me with much. quiero sentirme bien is a dreamy pop song that would have fit in on Isolation. While it maintains a vibe with some reverby keys and sugary melodies nothing about the songwriting is really all that appealing. de nadie is another fusion of trap and R&B with warm vocals melodies from Kali. I like the track up to the point where it becomes a slowed and reverbed YouTube video which as an artistic choice makes absolutely no sense. I guess it doesn't completely kill the track but it sort of makes me want to turn it off in the second half. Finally no eres tu is probably the best of all the songs in this section of the review, it's a short and to the point latin pop song. The beat is dreamy and the hook is sort of punchy so the results are exactly what you'd expect.
Compared to her debut record Sin Miedo is just okay. The songwriting isn't nearly as impactful and the highlights aren't nearly as high. That being said the record maintains a sonic consistency and largely avoids any totally major mistakes. Listening to this breezy 35 minute projects certainly won't drain you when even the records low points are mostly sweet if not boring latin flavored pop tunes. This certainly won't make the same impact Isolation did but as a follow up it has a clear sonic direction and avoids being a true sophomore slump with solid songwriting and performances from Kali on numerous occasions. 6/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
I love the colors on this cover. I think they're the first thing you notice and that's important so your eyes don't just glide past while scrolling through new releases. I'm not super crazy about the subject itself and I feel it's a little too small in the composition. The proportions of the wings to the body and the text don't work with the off center positioning. The text is also a little hard to make out, but overall the color has to save it. 5/10
For more pop music check out my review of Ariana Grande's positions here
