Kali Uchis’ second full-length album had to clear some hurdles before it was released; when the Colombian-American bedroom-R&B crooner signed her record contract in the mid-2010s, Spanish-language albums weren’t part of the deal. But Uchis persisted, telling execs that she wanted to fully represent herself on record—and the resulting album, Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios), was yet more proof of Uchis’ singular artistic vision. While Uchis retains the drowsy feel and fuzzed-out productions of her previous releases on Sin Miedo, the textures lurking beneath give her music extra bite, and the moments when she reaches into Spanish-language music’s past—including “que te pedí//,” a stretched-out reinterpretation of the bolero made famous by Cuban belter La Lupe—reveal even more of the influences that made Uchis’ music sound fully realized from her earliest releases.  Sin Miedo opens with “la luna enamorada,” a windswept guitar ballad on which Uchis dips into her velvet-lined lower register, calling on the moon to assist her dreams; her alto, framed in heaven-sent “oh-oh-oh”s, sounds serious and knowing. From there, Uchis explores the world of Latin pop on her terms: The Rico Nasty-assisted “¡aquí yo mando!,” co-produced by the reggaetón hitmaker Tainy, adds the snare fills and spaced-out synth stabs of trap to her heady mix, while she faces off with the Puerto Rican duo Jowell & Randy on the beat-heavy “te pongo mal (préndelo),” holding her own amid their snappy boasts.     “telepatía,” a plush bilingual ballad produced by Tainy, wound up being a breakthrough for Uchis in the U.S., becoming her first single to reach the Top 40. It hovers in a space between glittery Quiet Storm, heart-on-sleeve Latin pop, and dreamy R&B, its longing lyrics channeling those brave, beautiful moments when desire fully overcomes any bashful feelings—and its crossover success shows how Uchis’ vision for her art is as finely tuned as it is thrilling.