Kimbra - Primal Heart

The Guardian 60

(Warner)

Still known chiefly for her part on Gotye’s 2011 hit, Somebody That I Used to Know, New Zealand pop outlier Kimbra is now on her third album of idiosyncratic pop. As far back as 2010 she was putting out sly feminist takes on domesticity, like Settle Down. Now, in the wake of #MeToo, there’s Everybody Knows – an oblique electronic pop tune about broken boundaries. “I was young and gullible,” sings Kimbra, “but baby I grew.” A Tumblr post specifies the everyday sexism she encounters as a musician (she plays guitar, keys and electronics; like Sia, she also writes for other artists).

Just as arresting is Top of the World, which finds the singer virtually rapping, recalling former tourmate Janelle Monáe. There’s a newfound directness to these tunes, where electronics often collide with off-kilter R&B – closer to the mainstream than Kimbra has previously ventured solo; producer John Congleton (St Vincent) is a logical helpmeet.

Pitchfork 59

The New Zealand musician’s third album is a collision of hard electronics with a touch of R&B. Though it contains moments of great power, it sounds like a work that’s stuck between two places.