The Zutons experiment with soul, Kaki King astounds
Tom Korp
Issue date: 11/9/04 Section: Arts & Society
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Legs to Make Us Longer
2004 Velour/Epic Records
Score: 3.5 out of 5
For a purported music critic, I must admit that I am rather uninformed in the area of quasi-mainstream artists. Few musicians have made me regret my veritable tunnel vision as much as Kaki King has with her new album Legs to Make Us Longer.
I have bruises -- that is, I've been kicking myself rather hard for having just found out about Kaki, particularly since she's had quite a bit of exposure with her performance on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" as well as magazine spotlights in Guitar World, Guitar Player and Frets Magazine.
After listening to Legs a few times over (once was simply not enough), I can now say that I'm officially hooked on Kaki King.
Entranced. Astounded. Fascinated. When I initially tried to explain this amazement, words escaped me -- it's oddly fitting when you consider that Legs is an acoustic album.
No lyrics. No sing-along choruses. No heart-wrenching cries of anguish or praiseworthy hymns. Nothing of the sort -- it's all instrumental, which is more than enough to keep you interested.
Kaki's music relies on inhuman rapid-fire chords, slides and drum-like finger-taps that evoke sounds both complex and catchy from her custom-made Adamas guitar.
Her songs are, for lack of a better word, tasty.
But it's Kaki in action that truly amazes. Stop reading this review and go watch her video for "Playing with Pink Noise" on Launch.com; you can come back and thank me later ...
Assuming that you've returned -- and that you were able to find your jaw after it unhinged itself and dropped to the floor with a hearty thok -- let us continue where we left off.
Kaki typically holds her own with her solo guitar work, but she is occasionally backed by drums, piano, bass guitar and a handful of classical instruments.
"Doing the Wrong Thing" is the best example of this musical merger, especially with the cello and violin accents. Other standout tracks include the toe-tapping "Ingots," up-tempo "Solipsist," and soothing "My Insect Life," wherein Kaki finally steps forward to grace the listener with her lilting voice.