After a series of sublime EPs, including A Belle to Remember, The Side Of Paradise and Citrine, Hayley Kiyoko has unveiled her first studio album entitled Expectations.
A story that makes you travel
Hayley Kiyoko has released an album that tells a story. In addition, the album is composed of two completely instrumental intros in particular Expectations/Overture, where her aerial voice places the listener in a very nostalgic and xx world that appeals to the sensual side of the singer. These introductions plunge the listener deeply into Hayley Kiyoko's sensibility on Feelings, the hit What I Need featuring R'n'B star Kehlani and the intimate Sleepover including " But at least I got you in my head" that Hayley Kiyoko sings in the chorus. Indeed, this fact is extremely accomplished: we are completely in the thoughts of the singer.
He'll Never Love You (HNLY), Palm Dreams and Molecules present the danceable side of the singer, always keeping this feeling of pain and melancholy. However, it is in the middle of the album that two songs entitled Mercy / Gatekeeper and Under the blue / Take Me In are linked, in the same approach as Lorde in Melodrama with Hard Feelings / Loveless. Here, we discover the alternative side of Hayley Kiyoko where she lets go entirely to new sounds. The constant beat of Mercy/Gatekeeper evokes the anxious heartbeat of the singer who ends up slowing down at the very end through dusbtep sounds. "All I wanna do is cry, That's all I wanna do" sings Hayley at the beginning of the song, so at the very end. Under the blue/Take Me In continues in the same emotional line but less fragile and more rebellious, very close to Halsey's sound .
An LGBT voice
Hayley Kiyoko was given the title of "Lesbian Jesus" because she became the spokesperson for the entire LGBT community, especially with Girls Like Girls on her first EP. Here, Hayley Kiyoko continues in her activist role with Curious "Are we just friends, You say you wanted me, but you're sleeping with him" and "What I need is for you to be sure" in What I Need to appeal to the fact that she does not want to engage in a relationship where her partner is not completely comfortable with her homosexuality. In addition, she chose to collaborate with Kehlani who is openly bisexual, which gives a much stronger dimension of reality to the song.
Hayley Kiyoko blew us away. Expectations is proof that when you give yourself time to discover yourself musically and personally, the result will be excellent. Expectations is the album of an artist who has clearly defined her musical universe: she is completely faithful to the sounds that make her vibrate internally. The singer is authentic, which is very rare in a first studio album. Hayley Kiyoko is an artist in her own right who conquered us with this opus. We look forward to the rest.
8,5/10
