On her follow-up to 2018's star-studded, genre-blurring
Isolation
, Colombian-American singer
Kali Uchis
unapologetically arrives as a top-tier urbano stylist.
Miedo (Del Amor y Otros Demonios) ¿
whose title translates as "Without Fear (Of Love and Other Demons) ¿", is a radical next step. Rather than criss-cross neo-soul, EDM, and Latin pop,
Uchis
seeks to redefine the "classic." Here she works with more Latin trap and reggaeton-centered producers including
Tainy
and
Manuel Lara
, and Leeds-based pop visionary
Josh Crocker
. In another assertion of her hard won identity, she sings almost exclusively in Spanish. (Her label strongly advised against releasing it, fearing Anglos would not embrace a foreign language recording and didn't promote it.)
is fearless in stretching her sound past funky breaks, slippery R&B, and spaced-out jazz tropes to offer bracing evolutionary conceptions of reggaeton, cumbia, and boleros, seamlessly juxtaposing them with her own brand of Latin pop and soul. While there are a number of fine collaborations here, including the futurist Afro-Latin soul of "Fue Mejor" with
PartyNextDoor
(
Jahron Anthony Brathwaite
), the spiky trap of "Aqui Yo Mando!" with
Rico Nasty
, and the trap groove of "La Luz" with
Jhay Cortez
, the best jams are reinventions of vintage boleros such as opener "La Luna Enamorada," a tune that dates back to the 1940s but was a 1964 hit for Cuban rockers
Los Zafiros
. She slows down the tempo, allows
Crocker
to thread incantatory beats and
Beach Boys
-style four-part harmonies into the mix, and follows the melody and form without deviation. "Vaya con Dios" -- an original, not the classic Mexican song -- is rendered with sampled strings, a low-tuned rubbery bassline, and reverbed guitars amid smoky hip-hop beats. When she reaches for her falsetto, she soars. "Que Te Pedi" is a classic Cuban bolero composed by
Fernando Lopez Mulens
Gabriel Luna De la Fuente
. Introduced by the sound of a radio dial slipping across stations, its stately horns, congas, and bassline frame her most dramatic, passionate singing on the album. "De Nadie" is a seductive Latin soul tune with alternating breaks and hip-hop beats, while self-composed closer "Angel Sin Cielo" is almost psychedelic as it drifts and hovers dramatically with bossa-styled acoustic guitars and her stretched and altered vocal pitches that bring her soprano down to tenor range and jazz phrasing.
Sin Miedo (Del Amor y Otros Demonios) ¿
marks the spot where
comes into her own, not only as a true song stylist but also as an innovator. ~ Thom Jurek