Hiatus Kaiyote - Mood Valiant ALBUM REVIEW
Shoutout to Brainfeeder and Flying Lotus for signing these guys, good lord.
If you’re a hip-hop fan, you’ve definitely heard a Hiatus Kaiyote song. They only have three albums to their name, including this one here, and during that time, their songs have been sampled by Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Anderson .Paak, and Chance the Rapper, among many other artists. After a few roadblocks since the six years that came after their last album, Choose Your Weapon, the neo-soul group is finally back with Mood Valiant, jumping labels from Sony to Brainfeeder. Is Mood Valiant the massive comeback the group was needing? Let’s find out.
Let me get a little detailed first, though. It’s tough to combine the layered nature of jazz and the openness of soul for any artist. I hope you get what I mean by that because it’ll be tough for me to explain that. Hiatus Kaiyote has done that very well in the past, and it’s no different here. I personally feel that this sounds a lot better than Choose Your Weapon, which already sounds great on its own. Where I do feel that this album falters most is its ambition, and it feels like a very safe album for the band. The main themes here throughout the album are love and passion, and you can feel both of those throughout the entire album.
Even if I don’t think this is Hiatus Kaiyote’s best album, Mood Valiant is still a pretty great inclusion in a pretty great discography and even in the innovative Brainfeeder label. Nai Palm’s vocals are still as great as they always have been, and the group’s signature blend of neo-soul, psychedelia, soul, and jazz is unforgettable. It’s worth the comeback and definitely worth your time, but I was personally hoping for better.
7/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
Mood Valiant is a Brainfeeder release.
If you’re a hip-hop fan, you’ve definitely heard a Hiatus Kaiyote song. They only have three albums to their name, including this one here, and during that time, their songs have been sampled by Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Anderson .Paak, and Chance the Rapper, among many other artists. After a few roadblocks since the six years that came after their last album, Choose Your Weapon, the neo-soul group is finally back with Mood Valiant, jumping labels from Sony to Brainfeeder. Is Mood Valiant the massive comeback the group was needing? Let’s find out.
Let me get a little detailed first, though. It’s tough to combine the layered nature of jazz and the openness of soul for any artist. I hope you get what I mean by that because it’ll be tough for me to explain that. Hiatus Kaiyote has done that very well in the past, and it’s no different here. I personally feel that this sounds a lot better than Choose Your Weapon, which already sounds great on its own. Where I do feel that this album falters most is its ambition, and it feels like a very safe album for the band. The main themes here throughout the album are love and passion, and you can feel both of those throughout the entire album.
Even if I don’t think this is Hiatus Kaiyote’s best album, Mood Valiant is still a pretty great inclusion in a pretty great discography and even in the innovative Brainfeeder label. Nai Palm’s vocals are still as great as they always have been, and the group’s signature blend of neo-soul, psychedelia, soul, and jazz is unforgettable. It’s worth the comeback and definitely worth your time, but I was personally hoping for better.
7/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
Mood Valiant is a Brainfeeder release.
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