Mini Album Reviews: Kiesza & Kaash Paige
Through the hurdles that it took for Kiesza to fully get back on her feet following the traumatic auto accident she was involved in, back in 2017, she has amassed something significantly sexier than her previous album. Sound of a Woman was a triumphant attempt at recreating and delivering a new and fresh take on 90s club-music with a little mix of pop vocals. Crave, similar to Sound of a Woman, brings in that same flair with different perspectives.
A huge trend for 2020 has been the return to a slight futuristic-disco-funkadelic club pop sound, while experimenting beyond the main entrance. On Crave, she takes the full on approach to the 80s with more bass grooves and melancholic synths that capture the essence of her vocal pitches.
Sound of a Woman is more akin to that 90s flair, which Kiesza didn't fully flourish from, aside from the hit "Hideaway." Fortunately Crave allows her to flex those vocal chops more as the production never loses touch of its focus, even when Kiesza can’t deliver a very awe-inspired record.
“When Boys Cry,” has this resonating nostalgia for those simpler dance tracks that act as warmups before Tony Manero gets down. Though it isn’t as lavished as one of the standouts in “Love Me with Your Lie,” that really gets the motor up and ready to boogie with hypnotic percussion and synths. Kiesza has focus on what the music she wants to make sounds like, but the muddled simplicity of some focal techniques in the mixing and engineering is weak.
The motor runs long and heavy on Crave and Kiesza does her best to give it more mileage than the max. Her vehicle clocks in at proper RPMs when she weaves sounds like “All The Feelings,” an electro-pop standout that feels like an 80s club get down. Her music has always been reminiscent of a more deep house - influenced trance that translates to her melodic pop vocal approach.
7/10
Kaash Paige is unlike many artists her age. It could be because not many 19 year olds have the maturity to breathe through their lyricism. More often than not, it starts resonating in the production that doesn't take extra steps for uniqueness, or artists just translate minoot and hollow themes over said production. That’s where it always gets turned off course. On most of Teenage Fever, her debut album, the lyricism is mostly astute with child-like blunders here and there.
Kaash Paige also had the remarkable power to bring in Isaiah Rashad in for a guest feature, considering the length of silence he has had in the music world. But Kaash Paige has shown more than just popping out the hiding moles. She grabs some hot names in the game and makes use of them where the ears don’t feel like they are hearing something uninspired.
Her growth is so far limited to her writing and vocal range. Some tracks don’t feel complete instrumentally or features feel like an amusement park attraction. Unfortunately that can’t be said about Don Tolliver’s flow, but here it works to the track's benefit. Tolliver isn’t delivering something as bombastic or robust like he can.
The smooth and undercut instrumentals have a whim to them, even when some drown down to simple territory. The track “Jaded,” is derivative of slower downtempo R&B - Percussion heavy hybrid. It doesn’t bring anything new to the table like the K Camp feature in “Break Up Song.” It is as if the a first time writer in her show and the receptors get hokey R&B music.
Even when her writing shines on the overcoat of the songs, the production becomes muddled simpleness throughout.