Review Summary: Hayley Kiyoko's exceeds all rave expectations with major debut record.
The unfeigned but emotionally rave soundscapes of Hayley Kiyoko’s first studio effort, Expectations, could be a real-time authoritative of an artist’s consciousness. Described by the artist as divested record, the work was feeble and palatableness, as if it had already been smashed into a million pieces and calmly put back together, its cracks still evident in the care with which it was handled. The emotional impact of such a work on an already reeling heart is armored.
Kiyoko, who lives mostly in Los Angeles, said that Expectations was strongly influenced by her personal relationships experience. Direct evidence of this is all over the record: the mild cognitive statements; the song title "Curious" and the purposeful space between sultry beats. But it isn’t commentary the singer strives for. It’s candor, and it’s splashed all over Expectations in broad strokes with loyal emotions. The album is an almost-entirely vocal affair; abandoning her mid-tempo electronic trend, the performer has instead collaborated with beat-boxers Jack and Coke, Swedish producer team, which previously produced Eurovision’s 2012 winner song, "Euphoria", performed by
Loreen.
The most sympathetic songs will be the most talked about, but they are also the least necessary on such a challenging album. "Molecules" is a mostly boilerplate motivating anthem, replacing Kiyoko’s previous smooth sound with the concept-appropriate but still conventional rhythm. "What I Need" is the only one collaboration on the album with an awe-inspiring performance by Kehlani, who helps create a prattle composition complete. They’re excellent additions to the beginning of her future catalogue, but both seem to be wander of vocals simply to serve the concept. Fortunately, the singrer arranged as lynchpins, holding the record’s emotional strands together. Its warmth is deceptive, luring you in while challenging your notion of human contact. The mild exhales on "Expectations (Overture)" is prelude to the sloping harmonies on "Feelings" and the playful vocal work on the brilliant "Sleepover," which calls to mind the best work of Brandi Flores, which had produced Christina Aguilera’s 2012 Lotus record.
Expectations is a celebration more than anything else. The best song on the album, "Wanna Be Missed," was composed mostly by the singer; its swooping chorus recalls the migration of pain, a swirl of beauty and power crashing down onto and then rising above the mix. It culminates in the near screech that leads into the sexy-spooky confessional tone, "Got all these hearts in a line …"
Personal self-aware crisis results in a broad range of effects on people. Hayley Kiyoko has taken the high road with Expectations, the journey back into innocent fascination. Her self-written music unity would imply a hope for peace and love, but all the singer wants is understanding, a peace and love not in the world around you but within yourself. The process of healing is unique to nature, and the singer is asking us to reclaim that process. We depend on the communication that comes with each person’s voice. By illuminating this, Expecations is throwing the stars like dice; when the desired constellation appears, the power of human expression is fleetingly exposed.
