Melody Mcarthur is back with a new release entitled Kizmet. The artist has already made a name for herself with her previous releases two of which (Indigenuity and Rising Waters) were reviewed by Divide and Conquer.
Kizmet is arguably her best release yet. The seven songs come in around twenty-five minutes and go down very smoothly. Up first is “Unceded” and McArthur is in top notch form here. She dabbles with flow, classical singing and more. There are a lot of bases covered with the vocal approach alone. It’s a shimmering, upbeat song that does mention things like taking your own path, cancel culture and finding what you want. Up next is “Branded” which is a down tempo beat that is lush and warm. There’s some spoken words at first and a bit of an ’80s thing going on which I liked. The energy comes back in a soulful way with “Wildling (feat. Jahkota).” This song is an arguable highlight. I loved the beat but even better is the pairing of vocals. It’s a powerful combination of female voices with just enough funk and fun. There’s a straight up rap section which works well in the song. “Queen” has a different flavor. It’s thematic and grand sounding. I thought it worked really well in the movie. On top of that the song is catchy. McArthur belts it out again and also shows how much range she has. “Blood Memory (feat. Qo52)” has a slightly darker and haunting quality. There’s a mix of synths, inventive percussive aspects and atmospheric pads. The hook is there and McArthur nails this performance as well. “Matriarch” has some flow to it. There’s some slick rapping with a good amount of attitude. The groove is bright with a good amount of synths working together to make a hypnotic beat. I love a good rap with a memorable hook and that’s what you have here. The last track “Kizmet” is this haunting soundscape with spoken words for almost a minute. A beat infiltrates the mix with little warning and things begin to pop. It’s one of the more experimental songs and works as a closer. This album felt accessible and successfully combines aspects of hip-hop and pop. It was easy to enjoy from beginning to end, so hit play and let it ride.
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