Last Updated on January 5, 2024
The ‘I love you’ at the start of this album totally took me by surprise. It’s very sweet, and I appreciate being reminded from time to time.
Kali has a very pure voice that is strong but subtle, and with plenty of personality. But the tracks are slipping by me without making a huge impression. They’re all nice enough, in a gentle R&B kinda way, but I’m not hearing any big statements. But hey, maybe not all music needs to make a statement. Maybe some music is great at setting a vibe, rather than setting a fire.
I’m enjoying what sounds like the occasional bit of tape wobble in tracks like ‘All Mine’. The product is lush, but then most production is lush these days. I can’t remember the last time I heard some R&B that struck me as raw in any way at all.
Some tracks like ‘Como Te Quiero Yo’ have a more experimental feel to them, wandering into a similar territory to where you might find Little Dragon lurking. That’s a very good thing.
I deliberately don’t research any of the artists on the Pitchfork 50 list before reviewing them. But I had to Google Kali Uchis to check she wasn’t the singer of Little Dragon. Her voice is very similar at times.
The album continues in this way for a while, and the vocal delivery on ‘Hasta Cuando’ has an urgency and passion behind it that is seemingly absent from the start of the album. Even with the 1983-style gated snare stabs.
I’m determined to get to the end of this album review without declaring Red Moon In Venues as simply ‘not for me’. But honestly, I’m bored. The tracks are all very short, most are under two minutes. This gives the album the feel of a collection of demos that haven’t yet been fleshed out. Or a list of ideas that haven’t yet found their hook.
This music is bland to the point of dissolving into the walls. It’s the eggshell white of modern music.
I find myself looking forward to the tracks that are marked as ‘Explicit’ in the hope a bit of potty mouth might liven up proceedings.
I promised myself I’d listen to every album in full, and with some of the albums I’ve reviewed that has been challenging. But for Red Moon in Venus I can happily leave the album playing and go about my business. Somehow that feels so much worse.
Until the last track ‘Happy now’, which is an absolute belter. Putting the best track at the end of an album feels like a bold move in the age of streaming. I salute it.
