(Pitchfork earns a commission from purchases made through affiliate links on our site.)Ĭatch up every Saturday with 10 of our best-reviewed albums of the week. On their best album yet, Hiatus Kaiyote shine by building an architecture around these emotions, coming alive when they allow themselves to be more than just a great band. But even when she pares down her lyrics to simple paeans of love, lust, and devotion, her voice animates the words with pathos and meaning. Nai Palm is an endearingly stoney lyricist, and, sure enough, she starts off “Chivalry Is Not Dead” with an erotic verse that sounds like it was inspired by a blazed viewing of a nature documentary: “If I were a leopard slug,” she sings, “I would reach out with the blue rose of ours, wrapping myself around you.” Digging more deeply into these feelings-not to mention the genderfucked reproductive practices they imply-could be a worthy next step. The precision and intensity of the music veers toward dubstep, with a grinding half-time lurch punctuated by Moss’ massive kick drum.įor all the dynamism of their music, Hiatus Kaiyote have only a couple of lyrical moods: sultry or ecstatic. In several winning moments, they introduce string arrangements from Brazilian composer Arthur Verocai, bringing a regal spirit to lead single “Get Sun” and the piano ballad “Stone or Lavender.” On the riotous, mid-album highlight “All the Words We Don’t Say,” Hiatus Kaiyote are in their bag. Consistently delivering talent and class, the band is made up of Naomi ‘Nai Palm’ Saalfield with guitar and vocals, Paul Bender on bass, Simon Mavin on keys, and Perrin Moss on drums. It is the most vibrant they’ve ever sounded on record. Popular jazz-funk band Hiatus Kaiyote, hailing from Melbourne, is hitting Wellington in February 2022 for a special show at The Opera House. This is the first Hiatus Kaiyote album that doesn’t sound like merely a recorded live set you can hear them using the studio to expand their vision of what the band can be. In the hookier moments, Hiatus Kaiyote sound like songwriters and performers in equal measure, living up to their self-appointed genre of “future soul”: husky, cyberpunk R&B, with Nai Palm’s molten voice at its core. Bassist Paul Bender and drummer Perrin Moss are characteristically locked in, guiding us through kaleidoscopic sounds. On “Chivalry Is Not Dead,” keyboardist Simon Mavin juggles synths that creak and yawn. But the band soon ventures into new territory. The fundamentals of their sound-like the twinkling Rhodes electric piano that shows up in the brief and tender “Sip Into Something Soft”-are still present. No longer content with merely capturing the sound of four wildly talented musicians in a room together, they transform into something more expansive and psychedelic. Finally for those who don't know "FANG IT”, it is Australian car culture slang for something like “full throttle” or “drive like you stole it”.On Mood Valiant, Hiatus Kaiyote creeps closer to a unity of virtuosity and feeling.
Hiatus kaiyote youtube full#
This clip was full circle local pride and super fun to make. This video was a labor of love on a super modest budget, and made possible by borrowing from local costume and vintage legends-Vintage Garage, Edgely and Rose Chong Costumes, where I spent much of my childhood, as my foster carer was a head seamstress there.
I would also like to give a special shout out to Wangaratta Speedway for being so hospitable and accommodating. He really is the reason this all came together. If you were to take a snapshot of your own face while listening to the latest album by Hiatus Kaiyote, you’d be horrified. "The stunt driver, Kenno, is the real MVP of the whole clip, as he was a local just down for the cause. With Mood Valiant, Hiatus Kaiyote has crafted an experience that reflects personal emotion, with each track a vessel to carry a mood. Basically, I worked out that making videos is a great excuse to set shit on fire, haha." It is important to me to share with an international audience the plethora of talent and inspiration that I was blessed to grow up around.
The stunt woman, Cat Scobie, is an old friend of mine from back in the days when I used to party all night under bridges/warehouses with carnies and beloved delinquents. It was important to me to shoot somewhere undeniably Australian with its rustic charm. Quentin Tarantino references this esthetic in a lot of his films, and for the final colour grading, John Fish Productions and I referenced Death Proof as a source of inspiration. ""Crossfire" is the second chapter in my visual directorial debut and is an ode to old Australian car cinema.