Kaki King - ...Until We Felt Red

Kaki King is quite possibly one of the most inventive guitarists, male or female, to ever pluck a string. This reason and this reason alone is solely responsible for my rating of this album to be as low as it is. Her playing on this album is indistinguishable from any number of alterna-rockers from the late '90s. She plays wonderfully but the songs pale in comparison to her earlier releases. I found myself wishing that Kaki would summon the unabashed rock powers of Mary Timony. Alas, this outing seems like she wanted to show us that she could still play guitar well what with her chakras aligned and covered in crystals. Kaki King enlisted John McEntire from Tortoise to man the boards and it shows. The sparse vibraphone on the song "Goby" serves as a wonderful accent to the driving, circular guitar part. At the same time, perhaps McEntire's footprint is a little too heavy. The instrumental songs almost sound as if they could be throwaway Tortoise or Stereolab songs. "First Brain" features Kaki doing her best to make her guitar sound like a harp, while a sole trumpet seems intent on playing a whale's song. The song "Second Brain" could easily fit on a Pure Moods compilation alongside Enya and Ottmar Liebert. The opening track, "Yellowcake," harkens a little too closely to the Beatles' "Blackbird." The one song I found to be absolutely wonderful was "Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers." The disparate introduction of plucked guitar harmonics set the tone until the drums and bass enter and transform the song into a song that Stereolab would perhaps be jealous of. Sadly, this album serves as but a footnote at the end of the album. While I have no intent of slagging Kaki King, I found this album to be missing something. That something must be the energy that is present in her live, unaccompanied performances. These songs are well-crafted but serve only to excite the listener enough to be let down when they realize there will be no crescendo and that this is as good as it gets. If you are looking for a nice album to listen to while studying or perhaps something to play quietly in your new-age bookstore, ...Until We Felt Red is right for you. Otherwise, listen to that new Tortoise boxed set, it will probably do more to serve your needs. [www.kakiking.com]