Kaki King: hype or not? + how's the new album?

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One of my more enjoyable discoveries of last year was her debut record. I admit to being attracted by the insanely enthusiastic reviews (on AMG & elsewhere) and of course I fell in love upon seeing her playing technique on video. Before this though I downloaded some mp3's and thought they were pretty refreshing and something I'd like to hear more of not having much of this kind of thing!

All that said I still like this album a lot despite the qualifiers and the cynicism coming from some quarters about her. Yes she's young, cute & signed to Sony now. I can't say I've stumbled across her on MTV yet despite all this.

I apologise to the haters for not having heard Leo Kottke, Preston Reed or Teddy Fartknocker first. Oh the shame. (p.s. plz throw in recommendations anyway)

Check the mixed reviews - http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0443/smith.php , http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002YLDIM/

I mean really!

I'm still not totally sure about whether I need the new album or not though. I expected to be either blown away or dissapointed by the lack of obvious progression on whatever was to come next so far it's leaning to the latter. But I am only going by small clipettes here. The rubbish song titles really don't help though :(

Umm. Help me out.

― latetotheparty (latetotheparty), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 23:28 (twenty years ago)

IF IAN WILLIAMS WAS A HOT CHICK?

― From a Land of Grass Without Mirrors (AaronHz), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 23:31 (twenty years ago)

ROFFLE.

― cutty (mcutt), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 23:32 (twenty years ago)

see. we do talk about music on the noise board.

― cutty (mcutt), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 23:33 (twenty years ago)

it's commendable for the fact the someone at sony wasn't like:

hey, we like how you play the guitar, but CAN YOU SING like avril?

― cutty (mcutt), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 23:35 (twenty years ago)

I swear I searched for posts on this before...

That thread is kinda useless though.

― latetotheparty (latetotheparty), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 23:39 (twenty years ago)

I heard a few mp3s about two years ago, and they sounded good, will check out the album.

― 57 7th (calstars), Wednesday, 10 November 2004 14:26 (twenty years ago)

the first three/four tracks (if these are the same mp3's that were on her(?) website) are nice but fairly normal jazz-rock style. It gets better/more passionate/wilder after those tracks. Speaking of the first record that is.

― latetotheparty (latetotheparty), Wednesday, 10 November 2004 21:56 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

OH MY GOD I LOVE THE NEW ALBUM.

whoa, seriously. gorgeous. what a slow burner.

― Emily B (Emily B), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 02:06 (eighteen years ago)

All I have heard has been horrible. She makes guitar playing seem so lame.

― Ogmor Roundtrouser (Ogmor Roundtrouser), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 04:33 (eighteen years ago)

Isn't that what every "virtuoso" seems to do? That word is the kiss of death.

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 04:47 (eighteen years ago)

I did not like the "virtuoso" aspects of her playing prior to the new album, which is much more atmospheric and doesn't really veer into the Jammy Difranco end of things. I'm pleasantly surprised by this and it is definitely a grower.

― EZ Snappin (EZSnappin), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 11:20 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, I keep listening to this. Normally I don't like "I can't really sing but I'll try" vocals, but they fit here - and after reading so much about her guitar virtuousity, I was really impressed by how grungy her electric playing gets, especially on the title track.

― save the robot (save the robot), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 12:07 (eighteen years ago)

Jim O'Rourke has a hand in this doesn't he?

Interesting that she's off Sony too. I passed this up at first but perhaps I'll give it another go!

― rollin', rollin', rollin', keep them dogies rollin', rawhide! thread (fandango), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 12:12 (eighteen years ago)

Its not O'Rourke but John whatshisname from Tortoise.

― EZ Snappin (EZSnappin), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 12:37 (eighteen years ago)

McEntire? that's what I get for not googling.

― rollin', rollin', rollin', keep them dogies rollin', rawhide! thread (fandango), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 12:43 (eighteen years ago)

i think this record is gorgeous - really caught me off guard.

― PeopleFunnyBoy (PeopleFunnyBoy), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 20:47 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0443,smith,57832,22.html

― xhuxk (xheddy), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 21:49 (eighteen years ago)

see first post

― rollin', rollin', rollin', keep them dogies rollin', rawhide! thread (fandango), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 21:56 (eighteen years ago)

one year passes...

New one is pretty swell, too.

― jaymc, Tuesday, 8 April 2008 22:55 (seventeen years ago)

Oh, I loved-loved-loved Until We Felt Red. Enjoyed the promo video for "Pull Me Out Alive" when it was featured on YouTube a couple of weeks ago -- is that an indication the new one's more vocal and indie-ish?

― briania, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 01:20 (seventeen years ago)

The songs are a little songier, but the album's still more than half instrumental.

― jaymc, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 01:26 (seventeen years ago)

Nice to have some words & voice in there, but she's one artist for whom more instro is more better, I think.

― briania, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 01:30 (seventeen years ago)

one year passes...

Anyone else listening to the new one? Mostly sounds like its predecessor -- with a couple of exceptions (the last track, for instance, remind me a little of An Horse's "Camp Out," which she's covered) -- but I'm not complaining.

― jam master (jaymc), Thursday, 1 April 2010 15:14 (fifteen years ago)

Didn't even know she had a new one out! I'll have to keep an eye out for it. Love her.

― he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 1 April 2010 15:22 (fifteen years ago)

It's called Junior.

― jam master (jaymc), Thursday, 1 April 2010 15:23 (fifteen years ago)

(No Royksopp.)

― jam master (jaymc), Thursday, 1 April 2010 15:24 (fifteen years ago)

Also, how did I not know she covered Justin Timberlake, too?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQdo_UrnO9w

― jam master (jaymc), Thursday, 1 April 2010 15:25 (fifteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

Just picked up Junior yesterday, haven't listened to it yet but I needed to bump this thread to share this random image I found while trying to read more about her:

http://blogs.walkerart.org/teens/files/2009/04/2pac_kaki_king.jpg

I was very confused as to why that might even exist, but it turns out The Hood Internet did a mash-up called "Bone Chaos in the Ghetto".

― he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 22 April 2010 16:58 (fifteen years ago)

lol

I haven't listened to Hood Internet in a while. A lot of their mash-ups are kind of ~shrug~, but there's a couple that I love.

― jaymc, Thursday, 22 April 2010 17:34 (fifteen years ago)

shes pretty PRETTY BORING

― ice cr?m, Thursday, 22 April 2010 17:40 (fifteen years ago)

ownd

― ice cr?m, Thursday, 22 April 2010 17:40 (fifteen years ago)

Gawd, my friend made a mixtape for me years ago with one tune of hers on it that had this really sweet Nashville pedal steel part and she only sings a very little bit in a super wispy voice and it's pretty much perfect. But searching around for that song I can't seem to find it. It's not on any of the albums on that pesky iTunes store anyway. Did I hallucinate this song? Sure want to hear it again.

― twice boiled cabbage is death, Thursday, 22 April 2010 17:53 (fifteen years ago)

Oh, it's this (warning: lolzy lame video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AehP9BgXF6E

― twice boiled cabbage is death, Thursday, 22 April 2010 18:02 (fifteen years ago)

Its actually on Legs To Make Us Longer, which I'm pretty shocked about not being on iTunes... especially since they have her first album there.

― he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 22 April 2010 18:07 (fifteen years ago)

Okay, "Hallucinations From My Poisonous German Streets" on the new one is very awesome. Love the drums.

― he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 22 April 2010 18:09 (fifteen years ago)

two years pass...

New one is instrumental! Seeing her this Friday.

― Sandy Denny Real Estate (jaymc), Tuesday, 30 October 2012 05:51 (twelve years ago)

Lol @ me saying "new one" every two years.

― Sandy Denny Real Estate (jaymc), Tuesday, 30 October 2012 05:53 (twelve years ago)

two weeks pass...

Show was great, and the album is really starting to sink in. Lots of range, from Eastern ("Bowen Island") to bossa nova ("Kelvinator, Kelvinator") to straight-up Celtic ("King Pizel"). Accomplished fretwork, as usual, but nothing too showy for its own sake.

― Sandy Denny Real Estate (jaymc), Tuesday, 13 November 2012 18:43 (twelve years ago)

seven years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2p_6lFlasA

― american primitive stylophone (zchyrs), Thursday, 21 May 2020 22:25 (five years ago)

one year passes...

you don't have to be afraid
of the pain inside you

― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Saturday, 12 March 2022 16:12 (three years ago)

three years pass...

i am just really adamant that until we felt red is one of the most incredible albums ever made

― ivy., Thursday, 22 May 2025 17:27 (two days ago)

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