Kaki King - 'Glow'
What do Fences, Bowen Island and The Fire Eater all have in common? They're all tracks off Kaki Kings new album- 'Glow'. 'Glow' came out in October of last year but it's an excellent album and those of us here at Isolated Nation thought it deserved a look in after a few of us saw Kaki live at The Bakery last weekend. She BLEW OUR MINDS!
Kaki has done an amazing job and has come a long way from her first album 'Everybody Loves You'. This new album just speaks to you and is honestly one of the best instrumental albums I've heard in a long time. What's great about King is that she really appeals to everyone, she's just a credit to herself and a joy to listen to. 'Glow' is filled with amazing guitar sounds, and other surprising layers and textures, not to mention absolutely pristine recording. 'Glow' really demonstrates Kaki's versatility, there are so many different vibes which really makes the album incredibly enjoyable.A few stand out tracks for me were the opening track, 'Great Round Burn'. It's got epic string parts from quartet ETHEL, and it's just an amazing piece of songwriting. At just over three minutes long you can listen to it again and again and hear something different every time. It's an excellent track to open the album and really makes you go "WOW" and want to hear all the other tracks.
I also love track four: 'Cargo Cult'. I don't know why this song appeals to me so much, probably because it just demonstrates Kaki's immense ability so well. There's a fair amount of percussive layering on this track as it gets further in, the audio tracks on those have been masterfully recorded too and it all blends together and sounds super natural. Great track!
The last track I'll mention is track ten- 'King Pizel'. This song was written by Kaki for her sister, and was played as part of her wedding. It's one of my favourites because it has that awesome Celtic feel and I'm a total sucker for anything that even remotely sounds like it should be part of the Braveheart soundtrack. I adore Celtic sounds and rhythms and this track also has bagpipes (played by Richmond Johnston) so I just about had a seizure of excitement. It's a pretty great track, completely different to anything else on the album, as you'd expect. It's pretty fast and upbeat and Kaki herself describes it as the 'emotional peak'. It doesn't get much chirpier than this folks!
All in all this is a very strong album, it's literally a work of art and wonderfully done. Get yourself a copy and have a listen! It will be the best thing you've done all week, I promise- it's guaranteed to make you a fan.
Let us know what you think of 'Glow'! Leave us a comment below or tweet us! @isolatednation @perthsoundchic will keep you up to speed. Until next time!
Emma Bradstock
