Every once in a while you a band that catches you off guard. A band that has a lead singer that creates sounds you don’t expect to explode from their uniquely decorated frame. At first glance, thumb when you see Hiatus Kaiyote, stuff lead Nai Palm, you don’t necessarily except the music she creates. When you think about it; you don’t really know what to expect. When I first found out about Hiatus Kaiyote, I did that thing where you just listen to the music without having a visual of the artist, and I fell in love. There’s something distinct about the harmonies they create, the way they mesh as a band, and how two of their songs can sound like a complete EP. With a sold out show at Paradise Rock Club, I wasn’t surprised to find out I wasn’t the only one to agree.
Hiatus Kaiyote has been pumping out some clutch futuristic soul sounds for a few years now, and some people can recount an amazing show they put on last year in Boston, so it came with no surprise that this show had electricity in the air 2 hours before it started. Hiatus undoubtedly held their own, with no opener, and delivered a performance that was an oddly satisfying mix that landed 1960s Soul music and us somewhere between gangster rap with a bass player with stacked rig.
In May of Last year, HK released their second studio album, Choose Your Weapon. What the band would describe as being an extension of their debut album, Tawk Tomahawk, otherwise would describe it as an rhythmic outer-body experience. An experience that took them from far down under Australia, across the world and to the United States where sold out shows, and one of the most diverse demographics of fans you can think of.
You may have heard Haitus on that one random freestyle discreetly named, ‘Haitus’ or you may have heard them on the Anderson.Paak joint, ‘Without You’, on his brilliant Malibu tape. But even if you didn’t, and you came to the show on Monday, you found it very hard to leave not a fan. Despite playing at Osheaga although in Montreal just a couple days ago, Nai Palm undoubtedly brought the fire.
With their drummer, Perrin Moss, playing some unique patterns throughout the night, which sometimes sounded intentionally off beat, everything was precisely planned and well-executed. Simon Mavin played melodies on keys that the ‘Dise crowd embraced and celebrated, what seemed like, the exact millisecond he began playing them. One of the true champs of the night was Paul Bender; With a bass rig as thick as his beard, and an Ableton setup that augmented our realities into a musical hiatus, we had a flamboyant sound of Hiatus Kaiyote, plus Nai Palm, an ethereal force on her own.
After starting the show off with the song a rendition of the song, “Choose Your Weapon,” the warmed up Hiatus Kaiyote crew showed us that they indeed had many weapons to choose from. Whether it be the dynamic keys leading the way, or some Ableton/rig effects and plugins altering the path, or Nai Palm switching from her gold guitar to a hacking away at the keys herself, HK did a great job keeping us all entertained. From songs like “Laputa” and “Breathing Underwater”, to set the weird-ambient mood only to bust our faces in with hardcore-soul (which I never thought existed before) with songs like “Swamp Thing.” This band is continuously growing and leaving their fans aching to see what they will do next, sonically.
Featured Image from : http://www.laut.de/Hiatus-Kaiyote