Kallai have unveiled Forever Could Never Be, a full-length remix companion to their acclaimed debut We Are Forever, a record that rightfully found its place in D//E’s end-of-year selections last year. The prospect of revisiting those songs already carried weight on the strength of the originals alone, but it also speaks to the consistency Kallai have shown in a relatively short span of time. Obviously, a quiet confidence can be recognized in the way the band continues to expand its world without forcing the matter.
Following the release of We Are Forever, the band shared the Live At Bridge City Sessions EP, a four-track document that highlighted the presence of Kallai as a live act. Forever Could Never Be arrives next as another meaningful extension of that momentum, a remix record that broadens the emotional and sonic language of the source material while remaining closely tied to its essence. Across the album, the songs move through dreampop, electronic textures, shoegaze mist, and more experimental terrain, revealing just how adaptable these compositions truly are.
The Stargazer Lilies help open the record with their interpretation of The Beautiful Ones, immediately leaning into the dreamlike qualities that have evidently existed within Kallai’s songwriting. It is a fitting introduction to the collection and an early indication that these remixes understand atmosphere as much as structure. Notably, the tracklist mirrors the sequencing of the original album, preserving a sense of continuity that allows the remix album to function as its own immersive listen rather than a standalone compilation. Three of the most celebrated tracks from We Are Forever also appear twice in this release, each reimagined by separate artists.
Newphasemusic transforms Amor Occidit Omnia into something driving and propulsive, carrying a sharp forward motion. A reimagining by Sad Goth Girl, a moody moniker for Kallai themselves, approaches Protector from a more restrained angle, slowing the pace and allowing mood and space to guide the track. Hexxes reshape Another World into a shimmering piece of dark new wave that feels fully natural in its new form, with enough immediacy to emerge comfortably on its own.
The two interpretations of Always/Never offer some of the album’s most notable contrasts. Hey Playgirl, also a monicker behind Kallai, brings a luminous blend of synthpop elegance and shoegaze warmth, recalling the allure of Ladytron mingled with the dreaminess of Lush. Callière, meanwhile, takes the song somewhere denser and more weighty, emphasizing texture and depth while preserving the melodic core that makes the track so powerful.
Ten Million Lights approach The Wave with an exploratory sensibility that drifts toward experimental post ock, producing something both unusual and inviting. Falling appears next, twice in succession. Reclaimed render it vibrant and rhythmically charged, while Tears Run Rings draw out its more reflective and sentimental qualities. Reclaimed return later with their version of As Night Falls, introducing a subtly club-oriented pulse beneath the atmosphere, before boredom & Romance close the record with a fully electronic interpretation that feels distant from everything preceding it, yet still unmistakably connected to the same emotional realm.
Forever Could Never Be succeeds as it comprehends and expands the strength of the material from which it is built, while also allowing each collaborator the appropriate freedom to reshape the music with purpose. More than a companion release, it feels like further evidence of Kallai’s growing artistic identity and the broadening possibilities within their sound. We Are Forever surely established the band's foundation within the shoegaze world, and this new offering shows how much room there still is to evolve from it.
ZR