Nothing warms the cockles like the return of a well-loved artist after an extended break and no return is more welcome than that of New Zealand’s finest, Hiatus Kaiyote. Choose Your Weapon (their second album) and its magnificently strange take on jazz, funk and soul was released in 2015. Universally acclaimed by critics and sampled by the great and the good of Black American music (Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, etc.), it hit dizzying heights. Since then, various members have undertaken solo projects, including lead singer/guitarist Nai Palm, who also overcame a diagnosis of breast cancer.

Their return finds them with a totally natural new home on Brainfeeder Records—home of Flying Lotus, Thundercat, et al.—and preparing the release of their third album Mood Valiant later this year on June 25th. Lead single “Get Sun” features Brazilian legend of soul/samba/folk Arthur Verocai and is a typically rambunctious piece of lithesome funk. Sunshine strings, occasional balmy brass and a rolling funk-fueled gait combine to whet the appetite for the further adventures of the utterly unique Kiwis.

PRE-ORDER Mood Valiant here

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