Isolation is the debut studio album by American singer Kali Uchis, released worldwide on April 6, 2018, through Rinse Recordings and Virgin EMI Records. The album was supported by five singles: "Dead to Me", "Tyrant" featuring Jorja Smith, "Nuestro Planeta" featuring Reykon, "After the Storm" featuring Tyler, the Creator and Bootsy Collins, and "Just a Stranger" featuring Steve Lacy. The album was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Background and recording Uchis intentionally avoided being influenced by "current music" or her peers while making Isolation. Although she worried that its sound might not align with contemporary trends, she embraced that sense of isolation and viewed creating music that "doesn't sound like anything else right now" as part of what makes artistry exciting. In an interview with NPR, Uchis stated that "Killer" was inspired by a toxic five-year relationship she experienced during her teenage years, as well as strained relationships with her family at the time. She recalled being "kicked out of the house" near the end of high school and described that period of her life as one in which she was "figuring everything out", though she later viewed the experience as an opportunity for personal growth.
Music and lyrics Isolation is an alternative R&B and art pop album, which combines elements of R&B (with the influences of pop), bossa nova, doo-wop, bedroom pop, soul, blues, hip-hop, funk, Brazilian jazz, and reggaeton. According to Clash, the album expands on the style of Uchis's earlier material through a "retro-futurist" sound and dreamlike atmosphere, exploring themes of survival, romance, rebellion, and self-assurance through metaphorical songwriting. A. Harmony of Exclaim! described Isolation as a "lush, sensual and eclectic" record that presents different facets of Uchis's persona, while noting her stylistic control across its genre experimentation. NMEs Thomas Smith noted her assertive lyrical persona on tracks ("Dead to Me"), while also highlighting the album's stylistic variety, ranging from disco-influenced songs ("Tomorrow") to ballads ("Flight 22"). He also compared "Feel Like a Fool" to the style of Amy Winehouse.
"Nuestro Planeta", featuring vocals the performer Reykon, is a progressive R&B and Latin pop song with a reggaeton rush. The silky funk song "After the Storm" features vocals from the rapper Tyler, the Creator and singer Bootsy Collins. The A.V. Club described "Body Language" as a "Smoke-ring bossa nova" song. "Miami" is a progressive Latin pop and R&B song.
Release and promotion Uchis performed the song "After the Strom" at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in March 2018, and announced the album Isolations release date—set to be released on April 6 through Interscope Records. She supported the album with her 23-date North American In Your Dreams tour which commenced on September 13, in Seattle, and ended on November 10, in Los Angeles. Gabriel Garzón-Montano and Cuco served as opening acts for the tour. Uchis expressed pride in the success of the tour, noting that she initially had no performance experience or industry connections and had begun making music "literally in my room looping samples".
Critical reception
Isolation received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 87, based on 17 reviews.
Ilana Kaplan of The Independent wrote that Uchis "has been largely underrated the past few years, but Isolation might just finally give her the attention she deserves". In a rave review for Paste, Madison Desler stated that "for an album that's fifteen tracks to be this consistently good is ... an artistic triumph that should place it on every Best Of list at the end of the year", concluding the album "perhaps signal[s] a legend in the making." Q critic Rupert Howe praised Uchis' "natural pop charisma and ... ability to glide effortlessly between genres". For Rolling Stone, Joe Levy praised the album as "fascinating" and simultaneously "vintage and futuristic", comparing it to the works of Beck and Outkast. In a five-star review Thomas Smith of NME commented that "miraculously, [the album] feels in no way forced: it's a joy to witness her glide into any genre and totally own it". For Exclaim!, A. Harmony scored the album an eight out of ten and wrote the album "bends genres to her will rather than allowing them to absorb her identity, making for an impressive effort that will only improve as it ages."
For Pitchfork, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd wrote that Isolation "positions her to become a new gravitational force in pop". Pitchfork also included the album at number 38 on its list of 50 best albums of 2018, with Daphne Carr writing that it "pays tribute to pop's past while making it sound new through glowing homage to black and Latinx jukebox favorites and a global roster of collaborations housed in classic soul/R&B aesthetics."
Accolades + Year-end lists Publication List Rank GQ Russia The 20 Best Albums of 2018 Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2018 NPR The 50 Best Albums of 2018 Billboard The 50 Best Albums of 2018 The Guardian The 50 Best Albums of 2018 Dazed The 20 Best Albums of 2018 Stereogum The Best Albums of 2018 Spin 51 Best Albums of 2018: Staff Picks The A.V. Club The best pop and R&B albums of 2018 Exclaim! Top 10 Soul and R&B Albums
Track listing
Notes signifies a vocal producer. "Nuestro Planeta" translates to "Our Planet". "Gotta Get Up" contains elements of "Love in Triplicate", performed by Midas Touch. "After the Storm" contains an element of "Wesley's Theory", performed by Kendrick Lamar, George Clinton, and Thundercat.
Personnel Musicians
Thundercat – bass, guitar, drums (track 1) David Andrew Sitek – guitar, bass (track 2) DJ Dahi – keyboards, programming (track 2) Tommy Brenneck – guitar (tracks 4, 15) Wayne Gordon – guitar, glockenspiel (track 4); string arrangement (tracks 4, 15) Nick Movshon – bass (tracks 4, 15) Victor Axelrod – piano (tracks 4, 15) Dave Guy – trumpet (tracks 4, 15) Neal Sugarman – tenor saxophone (tracks 4, 15) Cochemea Gastelum – baritone saxophone (tracks 4, 15) Coco Taguchi – violin (tracks 4, 15) Garo Yellin – cello (tracks 4, 15) Homer Steinweiss – drums (tracks 4, 15) Bosco Mann – string arrangement (tracks 4, 15) Asa Davis – keyboards, bass (track 5) Kevin Arcilla – electric guitar, bass (track 5) TJ Osinulu – drums (track 5) Sounwave – keyboards (track 6), drums (track 12), programming (tracks 6, 12) Larrance Dopson – keyboards, programming (track 6) Jairus Mozee – guitar (track 6) Two Inch Punch – bass, keyboards, drums, percussion, programming (track 7) John Foyle – synthesizers, guitars, programming (track 7) The Rude Boyz – keyboards, programming (track 8) Damon Albarn – vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass, programming, drums, percussion (track 9) Jeff Gitty – guitar (track 10) Josh Crocker – programming (tracks 10, 14), guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion (track 14) Kevin Parker – guitar, bass, keyboards, programming, drums, percussion (track 11) Greg Kurstin – synthesizers, piano, Moog, Rhodes (track 12) Chester Hansen – synthesizers, bass (track 13) Matthew Tavares – Rhodes (track 13) Leland Whitty – guitars (track 13) Alexander Sowinski – drums, percussion (track 13) Simon Guzman – conga (track 15)
Technical
Keith Parry – recording (tracks 1, 2, 10, 15) Kyle VandeKerkhoff – recording (track 3) Wayne Gordon – recording (track 4) Simon Guzman – recording (tracks 4 and 15) Eric Stenman – recording (tracks 5, 9, 11, 12) James Musshorn – recording (track 5, 6, 9, 11, 12) Matthew Emonson – recording (track 5) Todd Bergman – recording (track 6) Two Inch Punch – recording, mixing (track 7) Mavig – recording, mixing (track 8) Vic Wainstein – recording (track 13) Brandon Kelly – recording (track 14), engineering assistance (tracks 1, 2) Jeff Ellis – mixing (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 9, 11–15) Tony Maserati – mixing (track 4) John Foyle – mixing (track 7) Timothy Nguyen – mix assistance (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 9–15) Chico Torres – mix assistance (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 9–15) Josh Crocker – mix assistance (tracks 14 and 15) Dave Kutch – mastering
Charts + Chart performance Chart (2018) Peak position New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ) 2 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) 72
Certifications
Release history + Release dates and formats Region Date Format Label Various April 6, 2018
References