Why do we love Kallai? Because they create music that we can get lost in. Music for our chaotic times, for anyone in need of escapism and emotional release. ‘We Are Forever’ showcases exactly that, crowning the American band as one of Portland’s greatest shoegaze outfits. Out today, the album reveals everything that Kallai have to offer, from hazy, reverb-soaked guitar tones to underrated, cathartic vocals, partly drawing from tradition, partly looking at the future with bold courage and otherworldly textures.
We were certainly expecting the album to drop anytime soon. Readers might remember our latest feature for Kallai, dating back to early September, when we praised ‘Failing’ as ‘mellow, lush and hypnotic’, a description that would adapt to much of the band’s catalogue so far. We stand by our words: incredibly magnetic and gripping, ‘We Are Forever’ gifts an intense listening experience, yet nuanced and expansive. Jumping from delicate, ethereal energy to all-out grittiness, the album is potentially the best shoegaze record we have reviewed this year.
Out now via Little Cloud Records, ‘We Are Forever’ was recorded at Revolver Studios with producer Collin Hegna, and at Kallai’s own recording space, Synthetikit Studio. Delving deeper into the reasoning behind the LP, lead singer and guitarist Cate Hukle explains: “I wrote this record in the wake of last year’s elections as I grappled with what it means to be a mixed-race queer woman in a time where political movements in power want to erase people like me and destroy our history”.
Recommended! Discover ‘We Are Forever’ on Spotify:
