Khruangbin – A LA SALA
Lifeless Oceans
Khruangbin have given rock students loads to deconstruct.
A stunning, ingenious aberration, the Houston trio made reverb-soaked guitar instrumentals a pop proposition for the primary time because the surf period. Extra importantly, they did this not as revivalists—surf’s Achilles’ heel—however in a private and up to date method, reflecting the range of their hometown and the upside of globalization referred to as music discovery. Guitarist Mark Speer (“Marko”) channels an ethnomusicologist’s Spotify library by means of his Stratocaster; bassist Laura Lee and drummer DJ Johnson are an SP-12 incarnate, propelling the band with a swish mixture of dub, hip-hop, and R&B. After all they give the impression of being fabulous too—a sophisticated, attractive Ventures or M.G.’s for the IG age.
The trio additionally managed to develop their mission by means of collaborations that match like a glove, together with initiatives with Vieux Farka Touré and Leon Bridges. Their new LP, A LA SALA, is a reset report of kinds, a reaffirmation of their core aesthetic filigreed with discovered sounds. It’s a chill set, even by Khruangbin’s requirements; the nearer, “Les Petits Grits,” is post-rock Satie. The relative quietude—there are nonetheless grooves aplenty—makes you lean in, sizing up parts of songcraft and musicianship which may’ve beforehand hid beneath the band’s dancy, psychedelic scrim. This serves Khruangbin effectively, since they make music to Santo & Johnny’s stage of wistfulness, they usually can play their asses off.
The performances are so good, actually, you typically wish to divide them into stems. On tracks like “Maintain Me Up (Thank You),” Marko is a full-arrangement supply system, dealing with melody, concord, and rhythm with funky low-volume brio, and his crystalline arpeggios on “Might Ninth” ought to minimize the din of the busiest birch-paneled coffeehouses. It’s exhausting to be so stylized but retain Khruangbin’s form of endurance. You may kill the reverb and A LA SALA would nonetheless prevail. – GRADE: A
You’ll be able to preview A LA SALA at Bandcamp and elsewhere.
Extra from Spin:
- Khruangbin Plot North American Tour Behind New Album
- Khruangbin Spread ‘Love’ On First Single From ‘A La Sala’
- Khruangbin Releasing Five Live Albums Before End of Year
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