Citing Björk, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Fever Ray means Kiwi’s set her aims high and paved the way for a daunting challenge. However, the pristine pop gems packed into this EP more than justifies the comparisons, as Kiwi’s versatile vocals skip lightly over some delicately poised and neatly understated electronic backings.
Nothing’s overdone: the beats are subtle and used for emphasis rather than to drive the songs, and the best of the tracks, ‘Doll’s House’ and ‘Fearless’ in particular truly soar.
‘Make Me Happy’ is a slow, dark and sparse piano-based song that finds Kiwi revealing a sharper, more urban-sounding edge to her voice, but this only accentuates the sense of dislocation, of isolation the track conveys.
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The phase ‘promising debut’ may be somewhat overused, but that’s precisely what Kiwi’s delivered here. She has the songs and the voice, and if she can produce an album of the same standard, she could well be on line for a major breakthrough.
Kiwi Online
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