Hiatus Kaiyote – Choose Your Weapon – 9.0/10
Flying Buddha//Sony Music
Hiatus Kaiyote’s new LP Choose Your Weapon is a soulful excursion reflective of a progressive era where the past intertwines with the future. The band mixes soul, electric, rap, edm, and techno for a wonderfully refreshing sound. The Australian quartet has only been on the scene since 2011, quickly gaining notoriety and nearly clinching a Grammy for best r&b performance on their song Nakamarra. Only their second album, Choose Your Weapon is 18 tracks and nearly 70 minutes long, a more than generous compilation. Every song with vocals is led by the singer Nai Palm, who puts such elegant, boisterous, energy into each track. Check out Molasses and you’ll fully understand the extent of her depth. If it’s not the singers hypnotic range, it’s the jazzy, laid back, funk jams that use bells, lax drums, and chorus with such unique transitions that it’s impossible to miss. Shaolin Monk Motherfunk opens with a psychedelic pluck of the guitar and floating bells akin to something found in a fairy tale. At the end, there’s a dissonance that works so well, queuing a techno melody. The track list is super eclectic, and where Breathing Underwater is slightly more electro, Swamp Thing is brought to life by jazzy piano. It’s refreshing to hear lyrics that aren’t all about heartbreak and emotional turmoil. The elegantly woven poetry is full of thought and meaning. Nai sings in Borderline With My Atoms, “After the coal has settled deep beneath ash resting, Quiet as silk the remedy tampers the willing…” And The Lung is, “And all of you, I’ll offer myrrh and murder the preferred method of doubt that sways about, Heavy and unsound…” The themes and words are meaningful, and kindle the relationship between speech and music.
As a whole, the album is incredibly done, providing craftsmanship for an evolving art that requires innovation and style. There’s hints of influence from great artists like Thelonious Monk, Lupe Fiasco, and Snarky puppy. Hiatus Kaiyote has taken the best aspects of many genres and woven a tale that’s refreshing and audibly stunning.