Red Moon In Venus - Kali Uchis: Review

Kali Uchis

is a versatile Columbian-American singer whose blends together R&B and pop with classic influences from the worlds of jazz and soul and even splashes of latin music worked in. Her impressive fusion of styles led to her breakout success as a featured artist in the early 2010s and led to her massively acclaimed debut album Isolation in 2018. In 2021 she scored the biggest hit of her career so far with the tik tok fueled smash telepatia and is following it up with Red Moon In Venus the first of two albums she promised for 2023.

Review by Lav:

It's impossible not to like Kali Uchis. She's a wonderful singer with a blend of styles that has something for everyone and a list of collaborators that includes as much talent as anybody. Even if I wasn't in love with her second album nearly as much as her first it still had some massive highlights and I'm not the least bit surprised that it led her to have a big hit. I had no reason to expect anything but another good outing from Kali and that's pretty much what I got here. Red Moon has almost no songs I would consider duds and even though the songwriting can occasionally dip, it's matched by some more great highlights that I grew to love more with every listen.

I love both of the singles released in the lead up to this album. I Wish You Roses is a lead single that I liked a lot for its lyrical themes of moving on courteously while still managing to get a few worthwhile digs in along the way. It's a great attitude for a song that is complimented by some pretty instrumentation and a charming hook. Even better is the next single Moonlight which is one of the catchiest songs I've ever heard Kali write and is quickly becoming one of my favorites in her entire catalog. 

There's also a number of highlights among the deep cuts that show off Kali's versatility really well. Endlessly is my favorite of the bunch with an absolutely killer instrumental that combines great funk stylings and bouncy pop keys resulting in an infectious piece of music matched with wonderful refrains. I also loved the closing track Happy Now which is the album's danciest moment by far. It's a lot more punchy than much of the dreamy soul music elsewhere on the record but it's such a good song that I don't mind it standing out.

Blue is a song that grows on me every time I hear it with some more excellent instrumentation in the distant saxophone and glittery chimes throughout. I don't mind the reserved performance here because it's so supplemental to the amazing instrumental choices and it all sounds so great together. Given the fact that I've never been a huge Don Toliver fan I was surprised that his appearance on Fantasy is my favorite feature here. His vocals compliment the reserved breathy style of singing Kali brings and this is also just one of the best-written tracks here.

The other features aren't bad but they're in service of incomplete songs and are indicative of what holds this record back from reaching its full potential. Worth The Wait has an appearance from Omar Apollo but he actually fits quite well alongside Kali. It's unfortunate because the song itself is pretty weak aside from their chemistry. Deserve Me sports a Summer Walker feature which intrigued me immediately because I was curious how her more conventional R&B sound would fit in with Kali's dreamier and poppier take. Even though she doesn't fit in perfectly the song itself is still pretty tightly composed, though it's easy for me to imagine someone like Solange coming in and really elevating it. 

These two tracks hit at my big issue with the record, mainly that a lot of the deep cuts lean into their beautiful instrumentation and slick production and forego writing actual compelling songs around them. Tracks like the sensual Love Between and funk flavored All Mine sound absolutely fantastic but the way they try and pay off that sound is ultimately unsatisfying. 

Moral Conscience is an example of that almost being overcome mostly through the excellent percussion and Kali's impressive vocalizations. Kali also shines as a vocalist on Como Te Quiero Yo but the song itself doesn't do much to help her. There are little instrumental flourishes that help add drama but the song fades out pretty much right as it should be really hitting its stride. Finally, I wanna mention one of my favorite moments on the record which comes in what is probably my least favorite song, Hasta Cuando. Despite a very sparse journey throughout most of the track the spoken outro is legitimately one of the most badass things I've ever heard and if this song being on the record is what it took for us to get that moment, I am completely fine with that. 

Red Moon In Venus is a pretty good record that shows off a lot of Kali's strengths. Because the songwriting can occasionally hold it back it occasionally feels more like a proof of concept than a fully finished project all its own. Still, the sound of this record is wonderful with not only an impressive stylistic versatility but also a thoroughly charming sound highlighted by great performances and mixing throughout. Even operating less than perfectly as a songwriter and composer, Kali Uchis still sounds wonderful as an artist and dazzles as a personality throughout. 7/10

For more great pop music check out my review of Caroline Polachek's Desire, I Want To Turn Into You