Saturday, April 21st marks the fifth annual Record Store Day, celebrating independently owned record stores across the globe, and a love of music. In honor of RSD, New Zealand native, Kimbra, will be releasing a limited edition of her debut EP, Settle Down, with one new track, as well as a new mix of the single.
Kimbra is a twenty-two year old Kiwi, whose popularity has been growing exponentially of late, as her guest vocals on Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” have helped the single reach number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Her debut album, Vows was released last summer in New Zealand and Australia, and is soon to reach our shores this June. Her first single, “Settle Down” has done relatively well overseas, and with her recent boom in popularity, she’s bound to blow up soon. You can check the music video for it here.
Beside the title track, the other three standard EP tracks are included as well. “Limbo” builds a similar musical layering as “Settle Down,” with quirky background vocals, handclaps, and offbeat drumming accompanying Kimbra’s unique vocals. She sings of the risks of love, begging a potential lover “Show me that there’s love worth fighting for, give me good reason to believe at all.”
“Plain Gold Ring” is taken from a performance at Sing Sing, and proves the girl has the chops to sound amazing live as well as in the studio, and the remix of “Cameo Lover” is a very different version of the track which has Kimbra sounding like an 80’s Kylie Minogue. I much prefer the original version, but Sam Sparrow and Golden Touch do a good job of reinventing the tune for a completely new sound.
The new track, “Good Intent” isn’t exactly brand new, since it’s off her Vows album from August, but it is the first time we get to hear it in the States. The sultry tune slows down her normally upbeat sound to a smoky/jazzy vintage style. It’s a fun precursor to what we get to hear when Vows comes out here, and a great preview of a star who’s ready to light up the sky.
Try This Track: “Limbo”
