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. That peaks with Palm's aching rasp on the chorus of "Red Room," a self-preservation soul ballad on the level of Georgia Anne Muldrow's "Roses." It's as if the singer is scratching an itch on the soul of the listener.VERSION 1: LIMITED DELUXE EDITION GLOW IN THE DARK VINYL GATEFOLD + BOOKLET, POLAROIDS & STICKERS VERSION 2: LIMITED EDITION RED IN BLACK INKSPOT VINYL + BOOKLET
Just as crucially, "Stone or Lavender" is left to just strings and piano framing Palm's reassurance that "We will get over, only if we wanna." The surface of the whole set sounds slightly scuffed, which has a way of making the material seem a little weathered and even more personal. The kinks are flattened just enough for "Get Sun," a rolling and strutting number befitting early-'70s Marvin Gaye with an arrangement from elusive Brazilian wiz Arthur Verocai. With its rich, colourful soundscapes, tropical atmosphere, and lead singer Nai Palm’s soulful voice, it’s a strong follow-up to 'Choose Your Weapon' (2015) and a perfect soundtrack for the summer. They whip up a tempestuous racket for "All the Words We Don't Say," containing Palm's most time-seizing performance. Six years and a pandemic since their last album, Australian jazz-funk band Hiatus Kaiyote are finally releasing their third album Mood Valiant. The band's playing is as taut as ever, their abrupt changes in key and tempo, and pattering and jittery polyrhythms, further intensifying Palm's aflutter poetry.
In "Chivalry Is Not Dead," after likening herself to a series of amorous creatures, she goes into overdrive with "Electrons in the air on fire, lightning kissing metal/Whisper to the tiny hairs, battery on my tongue." Palm gets straight to the point elsewhere, like in the frictional percussion masterstroke "Rose Water," where "All of my heart, it wants to hold you" shoots forth. Palm more often applies her nature and science references to loved-up fantasies. Although all this could have resulted in Hiatus Kaiyote's wildest and most triumphant material, Mood Valiant is intimate and romantic more than anything else. (She also had to re-learn guitar.) In a real way, the title is also symbolic of the whole band, who were subsequently hamstrung again by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, the band were in the middle of making what became Mood Valiant, but Palm was given an all-clear, enabling her to record the album's vocals, by the end of 2019. Mood Valiant also applies directly to Palm, who in 2018 was diagnosed with breast cancer - what her mother died from - and underwent life-saving surgery. It's a nod to frontperson Nai Palm's mother, who would tip-off her mood by driving either a white (positive) or black (negative) Valiant Safari wagon. The title of Hiatus Kaiyote's third LP has dual meaning. Comprised of Naomi 'Nai Palm' Saalfield (guitar, vocals), Paul Bender (bass), Simon Mavin (keys), and Perrin Moss (drums), the twice-Grammy-nominated group Hiatus Kaiyote returns to announce their new album Mood Valiant, out on June 25th via Brainfeeder Records / Ninja Tune.