Choose Your Weapon

Background

The band began receiving attention in 2013, when they were nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Performance for their song "Nakamarra", performed with Q-Tip, but lost out to Snarky Puppy and Lalah Hathaway's recording "Something". In 2014, the band joined forces with hip hop artist Remi, the multi-faceted Kirkis, producer Silent Jay and vocalist Jace XL to embark on an Australia-wide tour titled 'The Sonic Architects National Conference'. Three additional backing vocalists: Jace, Loreli, and Jay Jay were added for this tour. During the tour Hiatus Kayiote met Taylor McFerrin, whom they credit for bringing them international attention after catching the last part of Hiatus' set in January 2014. Not long after, Hiatus Kayiote was playing on air in Los Angeles and soon came to the attention of Animal Collective, The Dirty Projectors, and Erykah Badu.

Recording

Recording sessions for the album took place in Australia and the United States at various studios including Ghost Oak Studios in Mornington Peninsula, Australia, Headshell Hideout, Oakland Studios, Sound Park Studios, Willow Grove Studios all in Melbourne, Australia and Instrument Zoo in Miami. Nai Palm served as the album's writer, vocalist, guitar and keyboard provider, Paul Bender provided guitar, keyboards and programming, Simon Mavin also provided keyboards, vocoder and percussion alongside Perrin Moss who provided keyboards, drums and percussion. Lead vocalist "Nai Palm" described the album as an "extension" of their debut, and stated she and the band had no intention to make a one genre body of work. During the recording the band wanted to pay tribute to the format of a mixtape, so they incorporated a range of interludes.

When recording the album the band wanted to create a body of work that was not "temporary" stating that; "everyone is just looking to release the next hot single, this record is in tribute to listening to an album from start to finish where there is a narrative that takes you to all these different soundscapes." The band recorded the songs individually and then put them in order with the interludes. All the album's tracks were written by Nai Palm. The interludes were written and produced when the band would gather and just be "vibing as musicians." Some of the songs on the album– like “Fingerprints”– were written when she was 16 and “Jekyll” was one of the first songs she ever wrote. “Breathing Underwater” is a song that Palm wrote when she and the band were on tour.

Music and lyrics

Choose Your Weapon is a neo soul album consisting of eighteen tracks, lasting seventy minutes. The album's production is characterised as being filled with "brain-liquifying synth-grooves, arousingly-unsettling time signature shifts," and "agile polyrhythms." The album's music was described as not being one genre but instead taking a variety of influences from a wide range of musical genres, including jazz, soul, R&B, West African funk, samba and Latin. Ryan B. Patrick of Exclaim! described the album's sound as containing "elements of late '90s, early '00s neo-soul: kick snares, electronic organ and bass guitar."

Andy Kellman of Allmusic described the album as being more refined than that of the band's debut, Kellman described the album as being built on "vocal melodies and guitar wriggles sneak up and tickle the ears, burbling electronics mingle with spiny acoustic guitars, time signatures abruptly switch and stun." The album's lyrical content touches upon various themes including natural and supernatural topics as well as speaking about technological subjects. Other songs on the album speak of a more personal subject matter, "By Fire," is a burial song inspired in part by Palm's father's house-fire death.

Critical reception

Upon release Choose Your Weapon was met with critical acclaim. Review aggregator Metacritic has given the album a normalized rating of 88 out of 100, based on 6 reviews, indicating 'universal acclaim'. AllMusic praised the album's genre mixture, that covered a variety of era's; "'50s bop to '60s MPB, or '70s art rock to '80s boogie, or '90s neo-soul to 2000s dubstep." HipHopDX praised the album's ability to create "fresh" soul from different "angles", the reviewer continued to call Choose Your Weapon as one of the year’s best albums.

The A.V. Club commended the album's complexity and structure, stating the album's music bolts "in unexpected directions just as they seem to settle into a groove." Clash Music praised the album's "vibrant and uninhibited" nature, but felt the interludes were unnecessary and "only act as murky limbos between its better parts." When reviewing the album The Guardian stated "Listening to Choose Your Weapon can hover between delirium and frustration, delight and outright annoyance, often in the very same beat." Exclaim simply called the album "a solid groove."

Track listing

All lyrics written by Nai Palm; all music composed by Nai Palm, Paul Bender, Perrin Moss, Simon Mavin.

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.