Pulls off “a love letter to summer 2017,” which is already impressive…
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[6.50]
Julian Axelrod: As a pop star, Kali Uchis has been hard to pin down, but “Tyrant” stands as the best distillation of her strengths so far. The beat is deceptively breezy, with a myriad of spinning parts clicking together like watch gears. Kali dances atop it with a confident ease, and while her lyrics read as silly on paper, she sells every last word. Most of her catalog to date has operated in a faux-vintage aesthetic that calls to mind early Lana Del Rey, but there’s an inherent playfulness that removes any gimmick or irony. And on top of all that, Kali remains human and vulnerable as she details the dangerous dynamics of infatuation. It’s only fitting that a song about power and control stands as her most confident, assured work yet.
[9]
Thomas Inskeep: Slinky, hip-swaying R&B seemingly made for season 2 of Insecure, with a pair of fine singers tripping tongues around a slightly island-ish rhythm.
[6]
Micha Cavaseno: Intimacy turned into a DMZ. Like most of Kali Uchis’ material, “Tyrant” suffers from a strong lack of focus. Over martial drums Kali makes her statement, which occasionally spills over into pretty cheesy similes — especially after the first verse, when we’re left with a bunch of inane foreign signifiers. Jorja doesn’t fulfill any of the song’s obligations, but she at least manages to sing more clearly than all two of Kali’s notes.
[3]
Austin Brown: It’s almost possible to ignore how Kali Uchis just does the most in this song, even on that especially clunky El Chapo line, with the LA beat scene-style synths and chopped-up beatwork that drape the whole thing. Then Jorja Smith shows up, a reminder of how smooth this could sound in the hands of a truly confident star.
[6]
Iain Mew: Jorja Smith’s own single didn’t do much for me, but she’s the highlight of “Tyrant,” lending an extra depth of feeling which, coupled with “I can see through you,” is very much the sound of things getting real.
[6]
Katherine St Asaph: Nails the delirium of new love as well as the delirium of late summer — somehow I’d never made that connection until now. Shame about the budget Rihanna.
[7]
Will Rivitz: “Tyrant” is young, dumb, and in love in exactly the same way as Julia Michaels’ “Uh Huh,” Kali Uchis suavely proclaiming her affection even as she admits the boy she’s into is kind of scummy. What “Tyrant” gets most right, in exactly the same way as Michaels, is sounding in love too. Where Michaels gyrates wildly, cannonballing into good feelings, Uchis swivels more smoothly, a faint flush of emotion instead of a jolt. The stripped-down drums, particularly the snare rolls, tap out a heartbeat just irregular enough that you notice it, like you’re experiencing the too-loud chest thumping yourself.
[7]
Ashley John: Beautiful and light, this track is tempered with the vocabulary of control and power. Kali explores a relationship that is a dizzying extension of the chaos happening in the outside world. There’s no real difference, she suggests, between the power we fight when our political leaders exert it and the power we bask in at the hands of our lovers. Seeing such a love as an acceptable distraction might be delusional, but that doesn’t make it any less intoxicating. The track lets us wander through Kali’s shiny world of French kisses and kaleidoscopes and sirens, ending where we belong–down, down.
[8]