Kimbra – Songs From Primal Heart: Reimagined (EP Review)

Back in April 2018, the exceptionally-talented Kimbra released Primal Heart, a full-length collection of eclectic awesomeness for the ears. Now, on October 26th, she reimagines her earlier work with the Songs From Primal Heart: Reimagined EP, thanks to Warner Bros.

Kimbra is somebody you know: this New Zealand siren is owner of the beautiful voice that duets with Gotye on his Grammy Award-winning “Somebody That I Used To Know.” However, she’s no background vocalist! The Singer-Songwriter and Multi-Instrumentalist released her debut album, Vows, in 2011 in Australia, and worked the music industry into a bit of a frenzy. Continuing to spread her eclectic musical talents, she released 2014’s The Golden Echo, which led to a Grammy Award for the talented vocalist, making her only the third New Zealand singer to do so. The winner of a slew of other awards, she has performed on Saturday Night Live as well as had her music appear on TV, in films, and in video games.

Back in April, Kimbra released her third full-length studio offering, the lovely and eclectic Primal Heart. Having toured with and performed the album for six-months now, she has returned to the studio, inspired to create a small, four-song reimagining of some of the original album’s brightest tracks. Songs From Primal Heart: Reimagined is exactly this: a short retelling of the original material, one that is perfect for fans and a delicious reminder that, hey, Primal Heart is a great work of art!

Songs From Primal Heart: Reimagined begins with “Black Sky (Reimagined),” which places Kimbra’s whisper-soft, sultry vocals alongside piano for a delicate retelling that feels like a summer night in a NYC piano bar. There’s a twinkling creep to the tale that starts simple and then travels skyward, like dancing in Central Park beneath the vastness of the heavens before ascending toward them with arms wide open. Acoustic guitar anchors the broken promises of “Everybody Knows (Reimagined),” where Kimbra confesses her own gullibility as a youth. Much like its predecessor, there’s a full-bodied sultriness to the retelling that, while present in the original, has grown in leaps and bounds for this reimagining. The end result is a track that feels exceedingly intimate, a candid, jazzy moment one-on-one with our songbird.

“The Good War” is similarly anchored in acoustics, with some gentle electronic flourishes, all serving to place the spotlight on Kimbra’s stunning vocals. Much like the original, this reimagining is catchy; “The Good War” is just too infectious to be denied – no matter the configuration of its presentation. Meanwhile, glittering guitars and twinkling piano keys accompany Kimbra on “Hi Def Distance Romance (Reimagined),” a sparkling waterfall of sound that will bring a tingle to your spine as it delights your ears. Which, in truth, is the perfect description of this entire collection: spine-tingling aural beauty.

It’s a short collection, yes, just a simple whetting of the palette with, alright, nothing truly simple about it. Fans will giddily embrace the feeling of intimacy that permeates the heart of Songs From Primal Heart: Reimagined, the alone-in-a-room feel of being one-on-one with this stunning voice. For those that have not already had experience with Kimbra, this is the perfect time to experience this talented woman in her element: delicately belting her heart and soul out for you, her listener. For these reasons, CrypticRock give Kimbra’s Songs from Primal Heart: Reimagined EP 5 of 5 stars.

Purchase Songs from Primal Heart: Reimagined

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