The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
From the very beginning of her third studio album, Red Moon In Venus, Kali Uchis makes it known that she’s far too much at peace for any ill will. Having spent the past three years adjusting to viral fame through TikTok hits and Latin chart toppers, Uchis has set up anticipation for fans to watch her grow as a promising artist in real-time. From the early days of her career, Uchis had developed a following through her collaborations with artists like Tyler The Creator and Steve Lacy. Songs of hers like “Tyrant,” “After The Storm,” and “Dead To Me” became essential components to the universe of HBO’s Insecure, and the timely “Telepatia,” which arrived at the height of the pandemic, became an anthem of longing for those missing their loved ones.
With Red Moon In Venus, Uchis has risen above the heartache and arrives to the peace she’s fought hard for over the course of the five years since her debut, Isolation.
After a brief intro called “In My Garden…,” the listener is instantly transported into “I Wish You Roses,” a soft, smooth anthem, on which, she wishes well to a past love. This was also the first Uchis dropped to kick off the Red Moon In Venus era, setting the stage for a calm-natured, principled Uchis.
“With pretty flowers can come the bee sting / But I wish you love / I wish you well / I wish you roses while you can still smell them,” she sings over an enchanting drum loop, reassuring her past love that she harbors no resentment, and will always have love for them, even if its from afar.
Red Moon In Venus isn’t a typical album about healing. It begins on a happy note, and the peaceful, easy tone carries throughout.
About midway through the album, she embraces her newfound love with Don Toliver on “Fantasy.” Here, she invites in the love she’s been missing for so long while accepting nothing less than the euphoric joy and boundless affection she deserves. “Babe, if you don’t worship me / It just don’t work for me,” she sings, making it known that while she’s on cloud nine, she’s not going to tolerate anything that will compromise her peace.
This album marks Uchis’ most cohesive to date, with smooth production throughout. Much of the tracks utilize simple drum patterns and smooth piano and synth arrangements, allowing Uchis’ silky, calming vocals to shine through. As her 2020 hit “Telepatia” from her sophomore album Sin Miedo (Del Amor Y Otros Demonios) brought her into pop fame, fans have been antsy to see what else Uchis can do.
Last year, Uchis teased that she would release both an English and a Spanish album in the near future. While much of the album is in English, listeners get a taste of the stylings for which they came to know and love her on songs like “Como Te Quiero Yo.” On this Spanglish cut, Uchis maintains the tranquil nature on which she set up the record, even amidst emotional turmoil.
“En la noche hasta amanecer / Ya no quiero más problemas / Te quiero en la cama y sin más complicación,” she sings, which means, “From night until the morning / I don’t want anymore problems / I want you in bed, with no more complications.”
At this point in her life, Uchis is firmly aware of what she wants in terms of romantic love. She is also unfazed by any negativity from haters or jealous people in her life, and makes it known on “Hasta Cuando.” On a particularly saucy line, she is aware of her own power, as well as the envy of other women toward her.
“Your girl talks sh*t about me just to feel better / About the fact that you’re still obsessed with me years later / At the end of the day, she’d eat my p*ssy if I let he / At the end of the day, she’d trade lives with me if God let her,” she rap-sings midway through the song.
With Red Moon In Venus, Uchis follows the formula of what makes her albums so great – poetic accounts of heartbreak, love, lust, and healing. But through the power of astrology, she is able to see the joy in the world around her, and let go of anything disturbing her peace. Granted, the album isn’t likely to boast mainstream hits, like “Telepatia” or “Tyrant,” but it does showcase Uchis’ ability to craft cohesive and timeless records.
Even after Red Moon In Venus, fans are looking forward to hearing Uchis’ upcoming Spanish project, which she says will also drop this year. With ten years in the game, a mixtape, two EPs, and three albums under her belt, Red Moon In Venus shows that Uchis is just getting started.