Nai Palm: Needle Paw 2LP Majin Bubblegum Vinyl

Why you'll love it

Brainfeeder's deluxe reissue spreads the album across a 2LP set on majin bubblegum vinyl in a gatefold. It strips Hiatus Kaiyote songs back to the bone and adds covers of David Bowie, Radiohead and Jimi Hendrix.

This edition

2LP set
Majin bubblegum vinyl
Deluxe edition
Gatefold jacket

About the album

Hiatus Kaiyote are famous for songs that change direction every few bars, so the first solo record from their singer and guitarist is a lovely surprise. Needle Paw is built almost entirely on Nai Palm's guitar and voice, with the production pared right back, and it shows just how much the Melbourne musician can do with very little.

Five Hiatus songs get the acoustic treatment, "Atari," "Mobius," "Molasses," "When the Knife" and "Borderline with My Atoms," alongside six new compositions. She calls "Homebody" her purest offering, "Crossfire / So Into You" drifts into a Tamia classic, and "Blackstar / Pyramid Song / Breathing Underwater" threads Bowie and Radiohead into one of her own band's Grammy-nominated songs. "Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)" gives Hendrix the same intimate treatment, and "Wititj (Lightning Snake)" bookends the whole thing.

Prince, Erykah Badu and Questlove had already sung Hiatus Kaiyote's praises, and the year after Needle Paw came out, Drake put Nai Palm on Scorpion. Four sides of vinyl from one voice and one guitar is a fine return on a set of strings.

Also at Kops: more Nai Palm on vinyl · browse 70s Soul On Up