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We Say...
In the realm of pop music, the label "Queen of the Acoustic Guitar" can actually work against an artist, conjuring images of cold technicality and coffeehouse fret-thumping. Kaki King has lately been saddled with that heavy mantle, but her masterful third record, Until We Felt Red, finds her distinctly uncomfortable with its stigma. Rather than laying out arpeggio after endless arpeggio, King instead indulges in strange and fascinating turns, building tiny, glistening songs out of odd chord progressions and shifting tempos. There's a kind of Cocteau Twins ethereality to Red, and the songs float mysteriously along, as fragile and intricate as snowflakes.
King has a tiny voice, but she uses it to tremendous effect. On "You Don't Have to Be Afraid", its spliced and layered, with King echoing herself over and over and over again. "Jessica" sounds like an early Lush outtake, waves of guitar washing warmly over King's tender murmur. Until We Felt Red recalls the halcyon days of 4AD, when no mood was too moody, no shadow too dark. -
They Say...
Having established herself on her debut as an important new acoustic guitar voice, and having expanded the sonic palette on her second to include other instrumentation, Kaki King once again rethinks her approach from the ground up on number three. While there is still deft fingerstyle guitar to spare, more of King's picking is set inside of a greater context -- percussion and light orchestration provide new universes for her to explore, and she revels in the experimental possibilities. Much of Until We Felt Red retains the lighter-than-air feel of the first two albums, Everybody Loves You and Legs to Make Us Longer, but King takes greater care here to fill the spaces with often unanticipated sounds and textures. Both electric guitars and electronics in general, and King's whispery sweet vocal -- itself used more for coloring than to make important lyrical statements -- also take a front-row seat here. But this is neither a singer/songwriter album nor an attempt to use technology for its own sake. Everything King brings to Until We Felt Red, produced by John McEntire, is in service of the composition, and if that means verging on improvisational jazz, or washing a melody in the quasi-baroque, as she does on "You Don't Have to Be Afraid," then so be it. The set-closing "Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers," with its thumped bass and slide guitar, veers toward funk with a touch of Nashville tossed in. But those seeking the imaginative, intricate acoustic playing that characterized King's earlier work need not, well, fret. Every track -- notably "Ahuvati," "First Brain," "Second Brain," and the title track -- is rich with gleaming guitaristry. What's different is that King, whose first notices came when she entertained New York subway riders, can no longer be described simply as a guitarist. From here on, she'll be watched as a complete artist.
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You Say...
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| 01. |  |
Yellowcake |
2:51 |  |
| 02. | |
…Until We Felt Red |
4:54 | |
| 03. | |
You Don't Have To Be Afraid |
8:10 | |
| 04. | |
Goby |
3:26 | |
| 05. | |
Jessica |
3:41 | |
| 06. | |
First Brain |
3:40 | |
| 07. | |
I Never Said I Love You |
4:30 | |
| 08. | |
Ahuvati |
3:42 | |
| 09. | |
These Are The Armies Of The Tyrannized |
5:19 | |
| 10. | |
Second Brain |
3:04 | |
| 11. | |
Soft Shoulder |
2:52 | |
| 12. | |
The Footsteps Die Out Forever |
2:15 | |
| 13. | |
Gay Sons Of Lesbian Mothers |
4:07 | |
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Credits
- John McEntire - Dulcimer // John McEntire - Synthesizer // John McEntire - Drums // John McEntire - Producer // John McEntire - Engineer // John McEntire - Vibraphone // John McEntire - Mixing // John McEntire - Wurlitzer // Clifford Lane - Producer // Jeff Patrick Krasno - Executive Producer // Jeff Patrick Krasno - Management // Katie Cassidy - Harp // Kaki King - Guitar (Acoustic) // Kaki King - Bass // Kaki King - Guitar // Kaki King - Percussion // Kaki King - Piano // Kaki King - Accordion // Kaki King - Drums // Kaki King - Drums (Bass) // Kaki King - Harmonium // Kaki King - Vocals // Kaki King - Bells // Kaki King - Vibraphone // Kaki King - Maracas Mbira // Kaki King - Shaker // Kaki King - Lap Steel Guitar // Kaki King - Synthesizer Bass // Kaki King - Distortion // Kaki King - Guitar (Baritone) // Sean Hoess - Executive Producer // Sarah Register - Mastering // Dan Brantigan - Flugelhorn // Daniel Mintzer - Drums
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