Kaki King - Dreaming of Revenge

I'm jumping into reviewing this album a bit prematurely as I just heard of Kaki King recently, from my father actually, who had seen her play at the House of Blues (eh) in Cleveland this past year. Did some reading up on her and saw that this album is a moderate departure for her in that she branched out toward more electric guitar, less solo based songs, and perhaps a indie/pop leaning. The Atlanta born singer/guitarist has been releasing material since at least 2003, and has appeared with the Foo Fighters and Tegan and Sarah in the past. Dreaming of Revenge was released in 2008 on Velour. She has put out a five song EP entitled Mexican Teenagers since then and has a full length due to be ready in April of this year called Junior. Her guitar picking immediately stands out in the first song on the album, "Bone Chaos In The Castle", along with her use of the guitar as percussion through occasional slap beats. Her play on on the frets is also intriguing as it includes similar tapping and slapping at times. Here's a video for "Playing with Pink Noise" , from the album Legs To Make Us Longer (2004) that demonstrates her musicianship on the guitar fairly well. On Dreaming of Revenge she uses both acoustic and electric guitar. There are a good number of instrumentals tucked within, but a fair balance of songs with vocals too.


Kaki King - "Pull Me Out Alive"

Probably the most indie/pop song on the album, also features less intricate guitar playing, but with a close listen there's still some interesting guitar picking going on there, and the song is simply well written for what it's going for. The intro seems a little forced, but once the snare drum starts up and the vocals are blended I think it starts working. The chorus features King's soft voice stretched out over the rest of the music. A return to the vocals and drum beat before the second and more powerful chorus, then turning to guitar leading rhythm that switches from one part to the next. You can check out the music video for the song here.


Kaki King - "Air and Kilometers"

I'd be amiss if I didn't include a song that showcases some of her wonderful guitar playing. "Air and Kilometers" showcases the range her abilities extend like stars stretched out across an evening sky. Starting off with some picking and chords that jump out and back, only moderately played, then following a short trail off, returns with more intensity and layers are built with stringed instruments and numerous guitar tracks. The second half of the song includes some echoed/reverb chords surrounding soft steady guitar picks. There many facets to this song that I find myself enjoying upon multiple listens, all the way up to the single guitar play at the end of the song.

 

There are some emotionally evocative instrumental songs towards the end of the album such as "Can Anyone Who Has Heard This Music Really Be A Bad Person?", and its a compliment to Kaki King for being able to elicit these types of emotional responses without the use of vocals in this particular song. There's a few moments of "sing-song" in the final track 2 O'Clock that is more endearing than I would have expected, it also helps that it is followed by some more fine guitar playing, this time at a faster pace.