A Soulful Dreamsape: Reviewing Kali Uchi's "Sincerely,"

By Timson Nguyen

---

Artist: Kali Uchis

Genre: Soul, R&B, Pop, Alternative

Label: Capitol Records

---

Kali Uchis' for "Sincerely," - Released May 9th, 2025

---

Kali Uchis' "Sincerely," is her fifth studio album featuring neo-soul and dream pop elements that can make you believe in love again. Transporting you to a world of dreams and love, Kali Uchis outsources inspiration from retro doo-wop love ballads, romantic and snazzy jazz, and contemporary R&B, rock, and pop to create this sonic immersion of a record. The culmination of these genres doesn't just feel like a love letter to her partner, but a love letter to all the music that came before this record. The production is a retro-futuristic melting pot of imaginative dreamscapes and the melodies are soulful confessions of love and attachment– something much needed in modern-day dating, where everyone seems to exhibit commitment issues.

Starting strong with "Heaven is a Home...", Kali Uchis packs a stunningly grand and eargasmic chord progression that sets the tone for romantic soundscapes that is reflected throughout the record. Moreover, with lyrics such as "could life be heaven on earth? / after the hell we been through", Kali Uchis sets the mark early and prepares listeners to feel love again. And love we do feel because later, Kali Uchis sings what has become my favorite from the album, "For: You". The dream-pop production resembles artists such as Beach House and Cigarettes After Sex, but the difference is that Kali Uchis' artistry and talent elevates "For: You" with her siren-esque voice.

The record's third single "All I Can Say" best encapsulates the record with a doo-wop production, amorous melodies, and an overall soundscape that fills the air with love. Saturated in an intimate pink and a deep, soothing red, "All I Can Say" makes me feel like I'm a few wines in, sway-dancing with a partner in a mid-century modern home watching "The Ed Sullivan Show". The retro and lovey-dovey nature of the song encapsulates the homage "Sincerely," is to the countless love songs that have come before.

While this is the first Kali Uchis' record that I have listened to in full and in one sitting, I felt drawn to its lovely luster for the first few tracks. However, the record begins to lose its shine towards the second half as you hope for a little bit more diversity in melodies and production. Songs like "Fall Apart,", "Daggers!", and "Breeze!" miss the mark ever so slightly when it goes after the strong impression that is set by the songs that precede it. While that is not to say that the second half is not great, it feels dragged and redundant; but this feeling may be due to my shortcomings as I'm more well adjusted towards 20-30 minute albums.

Overall, Kali Uchis' "Sincerely," stands out as a cohesive album from this year with melodies and production that encapsulate the feeling of being unconditionally and intimately devoted to your partners. With a clear and direct artistic vision, Kali Uchis represents what it means to be an artist: to create work with intent, passion, and execution. However, in today's modern world of short attention spans, are we to blame ourselves for not being able to appreciate long-form beauty or the systems that bombard us into accepting short-form audiovisual art? Anyways, outside of this dilemma, Kali Uchis tests our attention spans with an ode to music and love itself with "Sincerely,".

Score: 8.5

---

You can read more from live reactions to a more in-depth review of Kali Uchis' "Sincerely," on my Notion page: Timson's Sounds.