(From Left) Donald Johnson(drums), Laura Lee(bass), and Mark Speer(guitar)
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You got a band whose name sounds like a phrase from the far east, but then you got your album title in Spanish. That should be telling of the myriad of influences that Khruangbin brings to the table. Their name actually translates to "engine fly" aka airplane in Thai. This three-piece from Houston, Texas brings a very global/international influence to their art. Their previous album The Universe Smiles Upon You was a tribute to Thai Funk, but this work today makes its home with more desert psychedelic and surf rock elements.
The album was released a couple months ago on January 26th through the label Night Time Stories. The band got a deal with that label after being featured on a Late Night Tales mix by Bonobo earlier in the decade. They've been together for a few years now and I could see them getting some serious buzz in the American festival circuit. The album was largely inspired and dedicated to Laura Lee's grandfather, who would ask the young girl "Como Me Quieres" (name of track 1 which translates to "how much do you love me?") to which she'd reply "Con Todo El Mondo" (with all the world).
Vinyl copy of Con Todo El Mondo
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The first track I ever heard by them was track #3 on the album "Maria Tambien" which you can find below. What stuck out to me was Mark Speer jamming on the guitar with that middle eastern flare while Donald Johnson comes at you with the wavy drum pattern reminiscent of trip hop. Since hearing that months back I've played them for people at campsites, kickbacks, and just when I'm doing research for work. In the music video, they decided to sync up the song to a compilation of what life was like in Iran before the Islamic Revolution of the 1970's. You see liberated women living in a vastly different country than the one we know today. I never even knew Iran was like this not so long ago so I learned something just watching it. Video below:
Khruangbin - Maria También
I started the album from the top and found myself swaying and lightly grooving to it while I was cooking some sautéed veggies. As I went through the album I noticed most of these are just instrumentals, and I was super down with the approach. It's excellent background music to put on while you're doing some activity like cooking, studying, cleaning, laundry. It's like a cool breeze on a chill sunny afternoon. Fans of ambient should adapt easily to this if they want to mix up electronic tones with some physical instruments.
"Lady and Man" has these guitar licks that you'd think were cherry picked from the 1960's after Mark Speer hopped in a time machine. But it still has those subtle middle eastern tonalities underneath! I'm also a huge fan of the call and response dialogue they got going on
Momma ain't cheap but I could've been had
I went to college
I could've been a doctor, could've been a lawyer
Oh, come on, not that again!
On "Evan Finds The Third Room" the band does a teeny bit of singing and lays some slick funk instrumentals behind it. I haven't fallen in love with this track personally, but I think a lot of people would vibe with it. "August 10" is another song I need to mention because I keep finding myself coming back to its tranquility. Great sensibilities on the drums by Donald Johnson on that one.
Khruangbin - Lady and Man
Khruangbin - Evan Finds The Third Room
Khruangbin - August 10
The final track "Friday Morning" is the hidden gem of this collection that strays away from the relaxed, sunny day vibe present though most the songs above it. According to the band the theme is about the anxiety and excitement that comes with falling in love with someone new, and taking the jump into a new, unknown area of life. It also has the most vocal work by the band and they aren't that bad at the mic! It's still a little muffled and feels like background singing but it creates this intimate atmosphere congruent with the song's them. This might be the second single they'll release after Maria Tambien since they already did a music video for it. In this music video the band members are seeing footage of all their closest family and friends telling them how much they love and value of them. Hence all the smiling and warm fuzziness. Video below:
Khruangbin - Friday Morning
The Psychedlia and the band's attitude should be credited to excellent guitar work by Mark Speer. Laura Lee is a great front lady and Donald holds it down on the drums, but Mark is apparently one of the driving creative forces. He pulls inspiration from musicians and genres spanning all across the globe such as Thailand, Ethiopia, Jamaica, and what they affectionately refer to as the "Near East". The drummer DJ's influences come from hip hop and gospel music. It's hard to see the gospel aspect in his playing but I can see hip hop.
I do enjoy the easygoing vibe they're trying to convey but my one drawback with the album is a lot of the songs end up sounding the same. It feels like one long jam session. Maybe that's how the band wanted us listeners to view it, but because of the uniform vibe there isn't really a track that infiltrates my subconscious and has me like DAMN THAT'S AN AMAZING FUCKING SONG. It's just overall solid from start to finish. They have a few dates in Los Angeles at the end of the month so I might see them live down here. Below are links to the full album on Spotify and the group's bandcamp page. As mentioned before put them on while you're in a good mood just chilling or busy with a task and I'm sure you'll enjoy their art!