
When this was suggested to me by someone, I wasn’t sure what to expect, other than that if it was given a thumbs up by someone, and they were moved enough to recommend it to me, I should like it.
This went beyond a simple “like”.
The music by Melbourne, Australia’s Hiatus Kaiyote balances on that thin line of any genre you want to coem up with upon listening, and wipes it away with every note. In this case, it’s a mixture of soul, funk, and disco mixed in with electronic touches. Within acoustic guitar touches and atmospheric backgrounds are hints of minimalism, so on one end I could hear hints of Jazzanova, Can, and Jaza Jazzist, on the other end I hear gentle kisses from the influence of Erykah Badu, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Res. There are also some Latin and jazz vibes here too, and while I could spend a lot of time analyzing every second of this album, referring to the careful-but-powerful use of loops, echoes, and reverb, but… it’s a bit similar to hearing all of this great music throughout your life, hearing a band that plays some of your favorite songs but them knowing what sounds you should be hearing. The raspiness of vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Nai Palm shows she and they are not afraid to get ready or be too smooth, adding a perceived flaw into something that may be mechanic but somehow sounds organic. At any given moment, Hiatus Kaiyoke may switch vibe and you can’t help yourself but go along for their adventurous musical ride.
Tawk Tomahawk is “album length”, although if you remove the songs that are under two minutes, it makes for a fine EP. I love how they explore and get thematic in “Mobius Streak” and “Lace Skull”, but I look forward to the future in case they decide to explore even further and deeper by creating songs longer than 8 or 9 minutes. I want more.
(Mahalo nui to Madison McFerrin for the Hiatus Kaiyote recommendation.)
http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=4236451107/size=venti/bgcol=E31D36/linkcol=F8E98B/