Review Summary: Meandering fun.
Idols and Vices is a project that stemmed from experimental beats and vocal samples recorded by Kimbra during the pandemic years, then processed by producer Taylor Graves (Thundercat, Flying Lotus). It sees the two crafting a blend of hip hop & R’n’B with soul and pop music added on top. This direction is where her previous LP,
A Reckoning was heading into while keeping ties with its predecessor.
Primal Heart. Nevertheless, here they let themselves led by the ideas at hand without any restraint. As a result, the album definitely feels looser in approach and atmosphere overall. The decision to feature guests on most of the tracks brought some needed diversity. Tunes such as “Demi God”, “RNTBCK” or “Space Jam” share breezy yet bass heavy loops with Sahtyre and Tommy Raps taking the leads. Still, Kimbra penned her fair share of rap verses throughout, complementing with soft croons on choruses too. The late night jam, “Keen”, featuring DRAM is another noteworthy moment, boasting this cool, lounge jazz vibe. Seguing into “The Moment”, she and Dawn Richard take a similar mood into ‘80s synth territory. Their voices work lovely together, augmenting the melodic parts, especially.
Meanwhile, the collaboration with BANKS, “Stuff I Don’t Need” veers closer to Kimbra’s comfort zone, the two artists beautifully singing over a smooth instrumental. Same goes for the solo ditty, “Back to You”, which takes cues from the mellower moments on last year’s
A Reckoning. Unfortunately, this is the most diversity you’ll get, perhaps with the exception of “Honeycomb”, an electronic pop number that incorporates bits from Candy Crush Saga, as it was composed for the respective game’s soundtrack. At fifteen songs,
Idols and Vices (Part 1) becomes exhausting due to this issue. None of the tracks are bad, but at some point they simply fail to stand out anymore. Watching the animation created by Greg Sharp to accompany the entire record definite helps, offering some insight into the lyrical content as well, since it focuses on the intoxicating side of social media. If the second part of the LP drops, I hope Kimbra and Taylor diversify things, because this is the main reason it fails to truly take off like her previous affairs did.
