The album ends with the delicate “Blood and Marrow,” a Bender bassline to which Nai and Perrin improvised, that Simon pegs as his favourite: “It’s a classic Hiatus studio song that’s got beautiful exploration and mystery.” Mood Valiant is an act of love, of courage, of altered perspective, of sister-and-brotherhood. Simon’s experiment with an odd rhythm in groups of 5 becomes a cascading jam called “Rose Water.” Bender and Simon’s trading of single notes, back and forth, to make a melody becomes “All The Words We Don’t Say.” Nai’s cheeky take on sex-obsessed, three-minute pop hits becomes “Chivalry Is Not Dead,” a song about the bizarre mating rituals of leopard slugs (they turn fluorescent) and seahorses (they lock tails and dance). Behind everything is Hiatus’ familiar sense of musical adventure, their knack for making the complex sound simple, or in their own words “wondercore”. The result is an album, bookended by Verocai’s strings, that relaxes into a groove: sunlit, sublime, masterful. Paak, Chance The Rapper, and Drake - with whom Nai Palm collaborated on his Scorpion album. The new project comes after being sampled on songs by The Carters (Beyonce and Jay-Z), Kendrick Lamar, Anderson.
The twice-Grammy-nominated band is comprised of Naomi “Nai Palm” Saalfield (guitar, vocals), Paul Bender (bass), Simon Mavin (keys), and Perrin Moss (drums) and the new album is the follow up to their 2015 album Choose Your Weapon, which Rolling Stone described as "a stunning step up" and took them from Glastonbury to Fuji Rock, from rocking the Roots Picnic to selling out the Sydney Opera House. "Hiatus Kaiyote return in 2021 with their new album Mood Valiant, on Brainfeeder Records / Ninja Tune. Mood Valiant by Hiatus Kaiyote is now available to stream on all platforms, and physical copies are available for purchase on the band’s website.VERSION 1: LIMITED DELUXE EDITION GLOW IN THE DARK VINYL GATEFOLD + BOOKLET, POLAROIDS & STICKERS VERSION 2: LIMITED EDITION RED IN BLACK INKSPOT VINYL + BOOKLET Luckily for us, it won’t be long before we can catch Hiatus Kaiyote live, with the group performing live as part of 2021’s Vivid LIVE program in Sydney in August. The stanky rhythms and gold-dipped melodies are impossible to keep still to, and when the album ends, all I want to do is start it again from the beginning. Mood Valiant has made an intense and strong impression. The percussion slowly builds too, adding bass drums and glassy taps throughout before returning to the simple rhythm of the beginning, and eventually, ending sharply to mark the end of an odyssey. Several vocal lines dance around each other, creating an intricate bed harmony. This is a song that sounds and feels special.īlood And Marrow closes off the record, introducing a pulsing heartbeat of synth and 808s, on which the vocals and piano are built. Not once do the piano and vocals lose their unified force, their timbre and dynamics flowing hand in hand, with strings weaving their way in between. Infused with a deep soul, the lush slow piano blows the buttery vocals around like a breeze through leaves. Mood Valiant takes many a twist and turn throughout its journey, with the second last track Stone Or Lavender dramatically softening the mood. Rose Water will send you into an ethereal trance, leaving you with the inability to do anything but embrace all that enters your ears, fully capturing your mind. The flowing harmonies and swaying vocals dance upon the stark funky rhythms of the bass and drums, lining up for hits and accents throughout, as a reminder that this is the perfect product of organised chaos. My personal favourite track of the album, Rose Water, is one of the best examples of how tight and synergised Hiatus Kaiyote are as a group. The track slowly fades into barebones of rhythm towards the end, with various percussion parts adding to the raw and visceral experience that the track provides. While the backing tracks were pretty much finished back in 2018, Hiatus Kaiyote's vocalist Naomi Nai Palm Saalfield was diagnosed with breast cancer before she could record her parts.
Arthur Verocai) is the bright, dancey high point of Mood Valiant, with thick, sun-soaked harmonies from the keys, strings and vocals that melt you to the core, while uncontrollably shaking away to the intricacies of the rhythm, an experience that is much less painful and far more satisfying than it sounds. 'Mood Valiant' is the Melbourne four-piece's second album and follows up their successful 2015 record 'Choose Your Weapon'. The bass drum foot of drummer Perrin Moss has the power to realign your heartbeat. This track perfectly blends soft intimacy with a jagged beat. It begins by gently easing the listener in with the short introduction of Flight of the Tiger Lily, before oozing sexual energy with Sip Into Something Soft. Unlike the disruptiveness of Hiatus Kaiyote’s recording experience, Mood Valiant flows seamlessly between tracks.