Isolation (Kali Uchis album)


Isolation is the debut studio album by Colombian-American singer Kali Uchis, released worldwide on April 6, 2018, by Rinse Recordings, Virgin EMI Records, and Universal Music Group. The album was supported by three singles; "Tyrant" featuring Jorja Smith, "Nuestro Planeta" featuring Reykon, and "After the Storm" featuring Tyler, the Creator and Bootsy Collins.

Recording

In June 2018, Kali was concerned for her debut's sound, "When I was making this album, I really didn’t want to be influenced by current music or by my peers", “...I was worried that maybe my music wouldn’t be embraced by other people because it doesn’t really correlate with what’s trending at this moment, but I think embracing the isolation of that and tasking the risk of making things that doesn’t sound like anything else right now makes music exciting. That’s part of what makes life exciting. That’s part of being an artist".

Music and lyrics

In an interview with National Public Radio, Kali Uchis spoke on the details of her relationship with her family and growing up alongside the lyrics of "Killer", stating;
"After the Storm" features vocals from rapper Tyler, the Creator and singer Bootsy Collins. "Nuestro Planeta" features vocals from reggaeton performer Reykon. The song is a progressive R&B and Latin pop song with a reggaeton rush, and serves as the second single for Isolation. The silky funk song serves as the third single of the album. The A.V. Club describes "Body Language" as a "Smoke-ring bossa nova" song. "Miami" is a progressive Latin pop and R&B song.

Release and promotion

Uchis supported the album with her 23-date North American "In Your Dreams" tour which commenced on September 13, 2018 in Seattle and ended on November 10, 2018 in Los Angeles. Gabriel Garzón-Montano and Cuco served as opening acts for the tour.
Uchis made her television debut on The Tonight Show alongside Tyler, The Creator to perform "After the Storm".

Critical reception

Isolation received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 87, based on 17 reviews. Ilana Kaplan of The Independent wrote that Uchis "has been largely underrated the past few years, but Isolation might just finally give her the attention she deserves". In a rave review for Paste, Madison Desler stated that "for an album that's fifteen tracks to be this consistently good is... an artistic triumph that should place it on every Best Of list at the end of the year", concluding the album "perhaps signal a legend in the making." Q critic Rupert Howe praised Uchis' "natural pop charisma and... ability to glide effortlessly between genres". For Rolling Stone, Joe Levy praised the album as "fascinating" and simultaneously "vintage and futuristic", comparing it to the works of Beck and Outkast. In a five-star review Thomas Smith of NME commented that "miraculously, feels in no way forced: it's a joy to witness her glide into any genre and totally own it". For Exclaim!, A. Harmony scored the album an 8 out of 10 and wrote the album "bends genres to her will rather than allowing them to absorb her identity, making for an impressive effort that will only improve as it ages."
For Pitchfork, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd wrote that Isolation "positions her to become a new gravitational force in pop". Pitchfork also included the album at #38 on its list of 50 best albums of 2018, with Daphne Carr writing that it "pays tribute to pop’s past while making it sound new through glowing homage to black and Latinx jukebox favorites and a global roster of collaborations housed in classic soul/R&B aesthetics."

Accolades

Track listing

Credits adapted from album's liner notes.
Notes
Sample credits
Credits adapted from album's liner notes.
Musicians
Technical