Kaki King
...Until We Felt Red

"… Until We Felt Red" is the third studio album by the young guitarist from New York, Kaki King.

If you loved her first two records, you'll definitely find it difficult to immediately digest this album which presents itself as rather varied in sounds and contaminations to the point of seeming quite disjointed; moreover, regarding her virtuosic guitar evolutions, tapping, and various "drummings" on the guitar body... well... there is little trace of them in this record.

"… Until We Felt Red" aims to explore somewhat more artificial landscapes with a nearly schizophrenic haste to put together a record that winks at many influences ranging from Pop to Electronic, passing through Jazz and Classical music, touching upon the dark territories of Post-Rock… The novelty that will immediately catch the ear of the fans, however, is the introduction of a new musical instrument: her voice.

Truth be told, in her previous album, Kaki already ventured into a real song (in the album's closing track), but this time she decides to make more and better use of her delicate voice to materialize her thoughts and not leave them exclusively painted by the melodies of her guitar. The first track [Yellowcake] presents a well-crafted vocal intertwining over a not very elaborate guitar riff, a rather simple track that seeks an ear-friendly path rather than an alternative one. The second track, which gives the album its name, is definitely more noteworthy, as after a slow and "elastic" introductory phrasing, it sweeps into a true whirlwind of dark, distorted, and noisy guitar, slapped by a pounding drum … the atmosphere is Post-Rock and distinctly recalls a typical "Mogwai" compositional structure.

But it's the third track [You Don't Have To Be Afraid], a true gem of the album, that arouses interest: its structure is that of a suite that can be seen as consisting of 3 skillfully blended parts over more than 8 minutes … the introduction is entrusted to an interweaving of two guitars (and then others, who knows how many?) which slowly immerse into a downpour of percussive instruments (maracas?) and melodies woven with various overdubs of Kaki's voice; the second part is characterized by high-pitched and "chiming" sounds like a music box that seems like raindrops falling from the sky … and then everything fades on the reverberated and melodic voice that melts again over the acoustic guitar riff in an engaging crescendo where distorted and rocking guitar and bass appear until an unexpected closure with wind instruments (absolutely worth listening to!).

Then we move to the rhythmic and jazzy [Goby], the fourth fully instrumental track "ruined" by hints of electronic rhythm … not convincing. The fifth track [Jessica] echoes early Coldplay rock, a not-bad, sweet, and catchy little song. [First Brain], the sixth track on the album, perhaps brings us to the most isolated place in this artist's mind, sketching an empty and desolate landscape, also featuring a trumpet solo. [I Never Said I Love You] is the seventh track that evokes jazzy and soothing atmospheres without sacrificing an overdriven guitar episode that breaks the sweet melody of the voice; the eighth track [Ahuvati] enchants with its classical-style riff accompanied by a string pad (violins and cello).

Track no. 9 [These Are The Armies Of The Tyrannized] can be seen as the fusion of two distinct parts, the first one winking again at the Mogwai; the second part takes inspiration from a playful rhythmic idea until it closes on convulsive drum and distorted guitar hits which in the finale, however, does not engage much, remaining quite lifeless. In the subsequent track [Second Brain], Kaki's voice reappears, which then again leaves space for swirling arpeggios of various string and percussive instruments, the sound blend of this track is very interesting.

The next two instrumental tracks [Soft Shoulder] and [The Footsteps Die Out Forever] may seem interesting but remain in an embryonic state and do not develop significantly; the first is rather rhythmic while the second relaxes in dissonant chorus and "slide" chords. Finally [Gay Sons Of Lesbian Mothers] closes this album with a sparse drum and synth bass over which obsessive reverberated harmonics and a "slide" phrasing roam, repeating at regular intervals … however, the result is not significantly interesting.

In my humble opinion, this album presents very suggestive ideas and contaminations, although at times they remain as hints and do not develop adequately (especially towards the end of the album) and together with the disjointedness of its structure can lead the listener to a real "track skip" … in any case, there are episodes of great talent in expressive research in tracks that turn out to be true gems, and do not make one regret the previous albums…