As late as 2013,
Kiara Saulters was making homey acoustic pop. At some point after the release "Bring Me Back," she underwent a sonic makeover. Evidently no longer interested in breezy, unassuming tales of riding snowmobiles and cabin getaways, she recorded
Low Kii Savage, her debut as
Kiiara for major label Atlantic, with help from
the Cataracs' Niles Hollowell-Dhar and
David Singer-Vine, as well as Brenton Duvall and
Felix Snow. Highlighted by the breakout single "Gold," these six tracks alternate between downcast electronic pop and bass-heavy, trap-style rap production. Somewhere between
Jhené Aiko and
Lorde, or perhaps better described as a slightly more pop-oriented
Banks,
Saulters sings each line breathily, boasting "Gold up in my teeth, taste like money when I speak," "So many fuckin' bands, so you know we finna blow it," and so forth. It's of-the-moment mood music. Her eyelids seem partially raised only on the relatively chirpy "Say Anymore," where she sings "We can, we can build in this beach sand" so quickly that it can be heard as an ode to
the Weeknd, another stylistic inspiration. ~ Andy Kellman