Customer Reviews

Dreaming of Revenge (Dig)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm not a huge instrumental music fan. Yes, I appreciate fantastic musicians, but still I can rarely sit through an entire album of instrumental music (I need a chorus a bridge, etc.). That is precisely why I am so appreciative of this album. I've always known Kaki to be an incredible guitarist, but this album brings her up volumes in my book. Why she didn't sing all the time, I'll never know, because I LOVE her lyrics and her voice. I love this album, front to back... and have NO problem with the instrumental tracks...in fact I love them. Standout "singing" tracks are Life Being What It Is, Pull Me Out Alive and Saving Days in a Frozen Head. Standout instrumental tracks are Sad American, Montreal, Open Mouth and I Need a Girl Who Knows a Map... I just about named almost all of the tracks (and I can't say there is a bad apple in the bunch), which means you might as well buy the album. I can't say enough good about Miss Kaki King.

I became a huge Kaki King fan after seeing her perform on The Late Show many years ago. I immediately fell in love with "Everybody Loves You" and "Legs to Make Us Longer." I was not as thrilled by her last album "Until We Felt Red" and most of that was due to the radio-friendly push and the addition of lyrics. "Dreaming of Revenge" is in a similar vein as her former album, except that she sounds more comfortable with her newly discovered pop sound.

That being said, long gone are the days where it was just Kaki and her guitar, working complex miracles with ease. Almost every song on this album has drums and percussion behind her, as well as many other instruments going on. It sounds like she has become "Kaki King's Band" and no longer just a solo artist. She does not have a bad voice, but oftentimes the lyrics simply detract from the music. The beauty of an instrumental song is its ability to evoke feeling and emotion without explicitly telling you what's going on in the song. Lyrics, of course, change that and Kaki is now singing on 1/3 of the tracks. The fact of the matter is that the lyrics do not add anything. Making an incredible guitar song into a poppy radio jam via upbeat, peppy percussion and lyrics about "breaking up" is not what she was originally about, and the new sound does not suit her nearly as well as the sound on her first two albums. One of the things I loved about her music was that, odds were, I would never see people listening to her song on the radio, bobbing their heads to the drumbeat and singing along to her lyrics. The new album isn't bad (I've given it 3 stars because it still dwarfs much of the musical competition out there) and songs such as "Open Mouth", "Montreal" and "So Much for So Little" are incredible and complex. However, to hear her singing along to "Pull Me Out Alive" and "2 O'Clock" simply dulls the experience.

Multi-skilled guitarist Kaki King has returned with a fourth album, a seemingly logical progression from her previous work ...Until We Felt Red. As with the last album, this one is a diversion from her first two albums, which were almost exclusively instrumental and guitar-centered, and focused primarily on her finger-tapping style. Once again, she has assembled this overall mild-mannered album, which does not limit itself to any single genre, but rather dips in and out of various worlds of style, including bits and pieces of non-aggressive rock, folk, ambient jazz, and subtle post-rock, all the while retaining a sensible flow. She also takes on the role of a vocalist more strongly on this album. Much of her vocals here are very outright, as opposed to those on ...Until We Felt Red, where they were more subdued and delicate. With the vocals being more outright, it becomes more apparent that vocals are not exactly Kaki's forte, yet one still must admire her seemingly increased level of confidence in assuming the duty of singing.

The album starts with a short, semi-acoustic/semi-electric instrumental prelude with jazz/funk overtones. Throughout the rest of the album, there are several instrumental interludes, which contribute to the overall flow of the album, and do easily stand alone as individual works, such as the Metheny-invoking songs "Sad American," and "Open Mouth," and the shifty "Montreal." "Life Being What It Is" is the first track to exhibit Kaki's "new" vocals, giving you ample time to decide whether or not you like them. She does however still utilize wordless vocalizations in the background that add to the instrumental section, reminiscent of past songs such as "You Don't Have to Be Afraid." This harmony-rich technique prevails on other songs such as "Saving Days in a Frozen Head," and it is in this technique that Kaki's voice always does seem to succeed. "Pull Me Out Alive" may raise a few eyebrows at first, but it evolves into a catchy pop tune, and an album highlight.

Overall, this is a very good album. It may not have the staying power or even the full appeal of its predecessor, but it remains an indication of Kaki King's skills as a musician and songwriter, and her abilities to diversify and not limit herself.

Guys, guys guys. Stop being so selfish! I understand that many of you all that have reviewed this album feel a bit torn because Ms. King has taken a step away from the intricate acoustic instrumentals of albums past. But you have to understand, as an artist, Kaki King must expand her creativity, and this is exactly what she's doing on her latest two albums.

Now, to review Dreaming of Revenge. This album was an absolute eye-opener. The post-rock feeling that this album presents is astonishing. In addition, the quite melancholy sensation of the album is in many ways hypnotic. And as for those songs in which she sings, I don't understand how people can not be pleasantly surprised at their composition. The lyrics are very powerful, and you can really feel every emotion that she expresses in her music. I found the songs "Pull Me Out Alive," "Life Being As It Is," and "Saving Days In A Frozen Head" especially beautiful. Whether she wanted this to happen or not, when I listen to her sing, I feel very connected to her, and thus find myself sympathizing as well as empathizing with the pain she expresses in her lyrics.

Even so, you can expect the instrumentals on this album to be just as engaging. "Bone Chaos in the Castle," "Montreal," "Sad American," and "Can Anyone Who Heard This Music Really Be a Bad Person?" I feel lead the pack.

Thus, don't fear this new side of Kaki King. It's an even more creative side than before. She as a musician can be so much more expressive when you can feel all of her emotions in her vocals and lyrics.

I can almost repeat my review of "... until we felt red," where I wrote "I was at a Kaki King concert last night. I wasn't expecting to like her new material as much as the old, but came away quite impressed." However, this latest concert was a few months back, and I'm still ambivalent about this new album. Kaki goes further in the direction she took with "... until we felt red." Since I like her first two albums best, anything different has to win me over. I like the songs on this album that most resemble her earlier work, but unfortunately the rest isn't that great. There aren't enough of the former to carry the album as a whole.

I wanted this Cd for a while now and was excited to go get but it wasn't available at any of my local retailers. So I ordered it from Amazon and was so glad I did. Most CD's I have to hear a few times before I can get into it, but with this one I was hooked after the first listen. I also don't like to listen to something over and over again because I get tired of things pretty easily but I played this CD on repeat at least 6 times the second day I had it. I love all the songs on the CD which is something that is very hard for me to do. I definitely recommend this CD to anyone who likes ambient or atmospheric guitar sounds. It is awesome to chill out to.

I have been a fan of Kaki King since her first album, "Everybody Loves You." She has changed quite a bit musically since then. "Everybody Loves You" and its successor, "Legs To Make Us Longer," are made up almost completely of solo guitar. "Everybody" was completely acoustic save for a hidden bonus track, and had no accompaniment whatsoever, unless you count Kaki's humming in the bonus track. "Legs" had more electric in it but still very limited accompaniment, with drums on "Doing the Wrong Thing."

"Until We Felt Red..." was a huge departure from her previous albums. Much more jazzy and with percussion on nearly every track and vocals on quite a few tracks, it was, at first, a bit of a let down for me having grown used to her previous style. That did not last. I eventually came to see it as the most interesting of her albums.

"Dreaming of Revenge" is a continuation of "Until We Felt Red...", but in a very different direction. All of the tracks have some sort of accompaniment, whether it is percussion, another guitar track or singing. The songs are structured much like rock songs, with heavier percussion than the light jazz percussion from "Red." "Pull Me Out Alive" is a perfect example of this, sounding like an export from the British rock scene, and an extremely catchy one at that. Even the instrumentals have a regular rhythm, but no two will sound the same. "Open Mouth" is a quiet, almost menacing tune with several violins accompanying Kaki's guitar, while "Air and Kilometers" is a more upbeat track that has a dreamlike quality, overlapping several guitar tracks with broken percussion.

One thing that I love about this CD is that Kaki's acoustic playing, which just wasn't very present in "Red," is back in full force. The very first track, "Bone Chaos In the Castle," starts of with guitar tapping reminiscent of heavily acoustic tracks from her first two albums, such as "Close Your Eyes and You'll Burst Into Flames" from Everybody and "Solipsist" from Legs. All in all, I am very happy with this album and I am even more excited to see what what Kaki comes out with next. If she follows her current trend, it will be unlike anything else we have seen out of her, unique and remarkably well put together.

Ok, It's easy to not delve deep enough into the latest release by Kaki and dismiss it as a POP album....not true....And these few tracks that could be considered POPPY have way more depth and detail than any generic POP song. All of her music is riddled with these little gems and details that cannot be fully appreciated in a once over.
This latest release feels like she has found a greater comfort with voice and by voice I mean not just her singing voice. But her voice as an artist.
It seems like the last album was really a build up to this one, like she was still testing the water and now..Shes doing the breast stroke in vast Ocean of audio bliss. There is something absolutely amazing about her melodies and rhythms that really speaks volumes and is UNIQUELY Kaki.As far the POPPY tracks go let me say this..These 4 or 5 tracks are actually really great and still have the signature Kaki depth that will easily be missed or dismissed on the first play through."Life Being What It Is" is a beautiful song and has an amazing guitar melody ....POPPY or Not this is a an amazing song...and I hope that these songs will bring people to the album so they can hear the stuff that really showcases her brilliance like "Can Anyone Who Has Heard This Music Really Be A Bad Person"
The music on that particular track really tells a story I close my eyes and I cannot describe to you where it takes me... it is an absolute masterpiece. If you even remotely like the last album, this is a no-brainer_____>Its much much better light years beyond...and even if you are new to Kaki King this certainly a wonderful place to start.

Kaki King is a young and very gifted guitarist reaching out....and with "Dreaming Of Revenge" has reached a new plateau...
All the music on this new recording is full of hope and promise reaching out to explore new sounds and new emotions. It fulfills it's promise in spades.
"Can Anyone Who Has Heard This Music Really Be A Bad Person?" Just listen and be your own judge. This is new sounds and styles opening up the listener to a whole new world of music and emotion.
True talent and imagination wins out in this wonderful release. But be your own judge and allow the magik to surround you with the beauty Kaki King longs to infuse your senses with. Enjoy as intended!!!!!

I fell in love with Kaki when "Until We Felt Red" came out. I have been very anxious for this new CD and hoped it would meet my expectations. Thankfully it has. She has continued her track into songwriting (as opposed to her earlier albums which are great, but likely only to appeal to musicians). There is some singing (her little girl whisper is a welcome change from the American Idol wailing everyone else does) that is done very well and fits the songs. Her instrumentals have become more dense and emotional and stand on their own without words. She really has become a force in MUSIC, not just instrumentation.