A few years ago, it looked as though KALEIDA would disband due to the pressures of parenting and the shifting patterns of life.
But Christina Wood and Cicely Goulder have again managed to make their long distance creative partnership work again and their reward is their third album ‘In Arms’. As the title suggests, it has been an impassioned battle capturing 3 years of artistic perseverance. “This project is truly a labor of love. But in the end making music means more to us, and so we got back to it. We’ll never stop” said Christina Wood to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK
With a Hollywood pedigree that saw their first single ‘Think’ included in the soundtrack of the 2014 Keanu Reeves action thriller ‘John Wick’ and their stark cover ‘99 Luftballons’ appearing in the 2017 Charlize Theron spy drama ‘Atomic Blonde’, album opener ‘Hollow’ is possibly their most immediate number since ‘Think’; throwing subtle house piano shapes, there is that divine haunting quality as can be expected from KALEIDA.
‘Generation’ exudes gothic soul with a touch of trip-hop and jazz inflections while with a sombre percussive drive, ‘Seagull Nun’ is eerily mesmerising with its recurring glitch adding an unexpected edge.
Collaborating with German producer Robot Koch, ‘Choices’ comes over like a modern folk song where a doomed romance is the theme and is a reminder that everyone has choices. Using synthetic and acoustic sounding basslines, ‘Hansaplast’ naturally possesses a looming Cold War tension with beautiful ivories tinkling in a foggy backdrop that recalls Mauerstadt Berlin.
The glorious ‘Stranger’ springs a surprise with 808 electro dance rhythms with a superb collage of staccato voice samples, punchy bass and great vocals, in particular a mantric chant that comes over almost prayer-like.
Elsewhere, the uplifting ‘Kilda’ could be CLANNAD if they had embraced hip-hop beats while the emotive ‘Endless Youth’ goes all deep and moody. A subtle backbone and heavy drone shapes ‘Hey Little Precious’ as “a dream we hold” before ending in an understated neo-acoustic manner with male harmonies on ‘Don´t Turn Me Out’ where KALEIDA collaborate with Oklahoma indie rock band OTHER LIVES.
A product of resilience, KALEIDA have got through their existential crisis and reinforced their sense of purpose. Producing their most varied and best body of work yet, ‘In Arms’ explores directions that could be considered opposites but at its core, the music remains angst-ridden yet hopeful. A real grower of a record, the emotive rush contained within gets increasingly satisfying on each listen. As Cicely Goulder says “It’s a constant dialogue of music and emotion.”
‘In Arms’ is released by Embassy One on 22 March 2024 in blue vinyl LP, black vinyl LP, CD and digital formats via https://lnk.to/KaleidaInArms
KALEIDA 2024 live dates include:
London Oslo (22 March), Prague Cross Club (23 March), Brno Kabinet Múz (24 March), Cologne Artheater (27 March), Berlin LARK (28 March), Hamburg Hääkken (29 March), Warsaw Chmury (30 March), Seattle High Dive (11 April), Los Angeles The Echo (12 April), San Francisco Brick & Mortar Music Hall (13 April), Brooklyn Elsewhere (20 April), Montreal Bar Le Ritz PDB (21 April)
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Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Benjamin Hampson
18 March 2024
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