Colombian-American singer Kali Uchis released her second album, Por Vida (For Life), on February 14, 2015. With only nine songs, the album is just over half an hour long, making it one of the shortest she has released. It has a dreamy, ethereal mood, which has become a signature style for Uchis. This album is a great introduction to her music for new listeners, and a fun throwback for longtime fans.
Most popular by Spotify streams: Loner
As the title suggests, “Loner” describes Uchis isolating herself after a failed relationship. She sings about the feeling of being used and manipulated, which is why she would “rather be a loner.” It’s immediately clear why this slow, melancholy song became the most popular from the album. Uchis’ voice compliments the melodic acoustics perfectly, bringing each individual part to harmony.
Least popular by Spotify streams: Ridin Round
“Ridin Round” should not be the least streamed song from this album. It is fun, dynamic, and its lyrics do a great job of conveying how Uchis lives in the moment. She describes “ridin round” in her car, having fun and feeling like she “hit the lotto.” The song has a different feel to it from other tracks on the album, which is refreshing when listening to the album in
Overrated: Melting
“Melting” is nothing special. It gained popularity when the lyrics “you’ve got some soft lips and some pearly whites/I wanna hold you in the dead of night” were clipped and used as audios on social media. However, the popularity of “Melting” is not because of the song itself, but of the trends accompanying it on social media. The song is true to its name, and different parts of it sort of melt together in a not unpleasant way, but the photos of partners and loved ones paired with the lyrics posted on Instagram are often more interesting than the song itself.
Favorite: Sycamore Tree
“Sycamore Tree” is the only song without any instruments, allowing Uchis to show off her vocals. The song is in the B Major key, giving it a hauntingly fragile sound. And although repetitive lyrics can be annoying, Uchis makes the repetition of “what you want me for? What you waiting for then?” work for her in the intro and outro. “Sycamore Tree” displays her creativity and talent as a musician, making it the best song on the album.
Least favorite: Rush
“Rush” features powerful lyrics. Uchis effectively describes the feeling of letting yourself be swept away in the moment, but as she tells us to “lose it to the rush,” the jazzy musical style distracts listeners from the message. The skat rifts sprinkled throughout are an unpleasant surprise.
Por Vida is a decent album, and showcases the type of songs you can expect from Kali Uchis in all of her music. It is dreamy and smooth, but I find that songs often disappear into each other. It was hard for me to distinguish individual ones, and in some ways it felt like it was just one very long song. The whole album tells the story of Uchis’ past relationship, starting with her questioning what they are, to the time when they are in love, and finally the aftermath of a breakup.
Despite the potential this plotline had, I found Por Vida to be mostly lacking in lyrical diversity, and it became more like background music than something that I was actively listening to. However, when considering Uchis’ singing, the vocals were amazing. She has an incredibly unique and captivating voice, and I was able to appreciate her talent whether I liked the song or not.
I would definitely recommend giving it a listen, even if it is not the type of music you would typically listen to because it has a very specific feeling that is unique to Uchis.
