Kali Uchis knows how to ease us into her albums, ensuring from the first moments that this one will be no less luxurious or entertaining than the last. fruit garden, her latest work in Spanish, is no exception, but it also surprises listeners. Much like “In My Garden…” from last year's lavish one Red moon on Venus, the opening “¿Como Así?” It's graceful, sweet and inviting – “If you come here / You'll never want to leave,” she promises – before taking a turn, a dance beat suddenly pulsing the track forward. The Colombian-American singer said that while Red moon on Venus It was spiritual and low tempo, fruit garden is her uptempo album, and those who enjoyed early singles “Muñekita,” featuring Dominican rappers El Alfa and City Girls' JT, and Karol G's collab “Labios Mordidos,” were probably expecting a lot. But it's not as if Uchis didn't want to waste time between albums and making them fruit garden In rapid response to Red moon on VenusHoping to capitalize on her success and push her sound in a different direction. No – I made those albums At the same timeIt is simply having the diversity that made it special in the first place. It deserves just as much praise as its predecessor.
According to Uchis, her first title was not awarded Fear (of love and other demons) ∞, their previous Spanish-language LP, the proper promotional push. But after the success of “Telepatía,” which became her biggest hit to date, there will undoubtedly be more support behind Uchis’ multi-faceted approach. but fruit garden, Which is named after the national flower of Colombia, It also happens to be an overall stronger album than without fearAnd bolder and more dynamic in its embrace of different styles. Not only does she seek to combine musical genres, but, in her words, “redefine the way we look at Latinas in music,” and her take on traditional Latin styles like the bolero and dembo is not only refreshing, but as seamlessly integrated as the way She plays music. She switches between English and Spanish – which sounds seamless but also has a way of distinguishing lyrical transitions and nuances.
Take “Te Mata,” which may be the album’s centerpiece — Uchis rarely dwells on the past, but when she does touch on it briefly here, the bolero is the perfect setting for a moment of dramatic reclamation: “Nunca vas a poder cortar Mis alas “eso es lo que te mata,” she sings (“You'll never be able to cut my wings, that's what kills you.”) As she returns to the ethereal realm of Birdist, she looks at her ex-lover with cold, cruel pity (“Did you cry when you saw the bed empty ?/Did you fill it with strangers, and try so hard to replace me?”), yet the track is tinged with melancholy acceptance, mirrored by the droning beat that clashes with its soft, dreamy production. This is not the space it occupies on most of the album, which is generally more assertive, graceful and optimistic than Red moon on Venus. But more often than not, she wanders into the same love-struck daze she exudes on tracks like the mid-tempo groove of the Peso Pluma duet's “Igual Que Un Ángel” and the following “Pensamientos Intrusivos,” where intrusive thoughts about love take the form of gorgeous, fluttering harmonies. She can be both tender and demanding at the same time, but she will ignore anyone who is still skeptical about young love—especially this one—love: “What do they know / They're miserable, broken, lonely.”
The ferocious, exciting, frenzied energy of reggaeton tracks like “Muñekita” and “Labios Mordidos” doesn’t quite represent the entire album. But that's part of what makes the latter part of the record feel so lively and festive, thanks in large part to the wild interplay between Uchis and her guests, who bring more than enough attitude to their performances to push it out of its vulnerable, cheery zone, as when Rauw Alejandro joins in on ” No Hay Ley Parte 2, a remix of the 2022 single. You can only set the tone for so long before you need to take things to the dance floor fruit garden Proving that there's no reason why the house and disco elements found throughout the album can't go hand in hand with the merengue beats that happily end the album. That's because when Kali Uchis sings about love, she's also singing about her vision of timelessness: As she says in “Young, Rich & in Love,” “No one of the future or of yesterday will be like me, and you know he or she.”
