To say that Kaki King is one of the greatest female guitarists recording today is certainly a true statement, after all, she was the first female to have been granted the illustrious “guitar god” status in 2006 by Rolling Stone. Yet, this statement actually may be a disservice to her because it narrows the field too much–not only is she one of the best female guitarists recording today, she is surely among the best guitarists recording today. She established this when she officially came on the music scene in 2003 with her debut, Everybody Loves You. She has recorded two more full-lengths since then (2004’s Legs To Make Us Stronger and 2006’s …Until We Felt Red). Many have also may have enjoyed her abilities unknowingly if they saw the 2007 film August Rush in which she preformed as the main character’s hands during the guitar parts. Now, in 2008, King has released a new record, Dreaming of Revenge in which we find the guitar virtuoso carving out more space for melodies and singing.
Its no surprise to learn that Kaki King’s first love is for the drums–in fact, she only concentrated her efforts on guitar after she realized that that is where he huge talents lie; that’s not to slight her drumming ability however, she plays most of the drums on this record and she does so very well. Her passion and background in drumming is something fans should be thankful for as it has played such an important role in forming her guitar playing style which shows great focus on rhythms, particularly in her masterful tapping and slapping of the strings. You don’t have to get very far into her new album before encountering some of this great rhythmic guitar styling–on the opener, “Bone Chaos in the Castle,” she dives right into some furious tapping, slapping, and knocking on that acoustic guitar. There are also some ghostly synths playing in the background while an electric guitar comes in to “sing” over all of it. Flying an electric guitar “voice” over a sea of acoustic strumming and picking is a technique she uses on several instrumental songs here and it works well.
In the past, the complaint about Kaki King by some listeners has been that there is too much rhythm and not enough melody. Also, some just aren’t that into instrumental guitar music which much of King’s music has been thusfar. On Dreaming of Revenge, King takes steps to appeal to a broader audience. The instrumentals are more melodic, especially with the electric guitars acting vocally and repeating licks and progressions to form melodies. King sings several songs as well which is good and bad. She has a youthful, girlish voice that feels so fragile that it creates a very intimate climate on the vocal tracks. Some of her best singing shows up on “Life Being What It Is”–a song that communicates a depth of emotion in the lyrics, the singing, and even the guitar playing. There is clearly passion and emotion in her vocals on this album but not very much range. At the end of the day, her decision to sing is a good thing–something hopefully she continues and the benefits of which will be seen in her future work.
One of the finest aspects of this record are the strings that so often show up in the background particularly on “Open Mouth” (which boasts the best moments of guitar tapping/slapping on the record)–they add to the free-flowing spirit of the record. There are several upbeat tracks like “Pull Me Out Alive” and “Montreal” that will get the feet a-tappin’–but much of the record is ethereal, fluid, and soothing. “Air and Kilometers” features several layers of guitars clicking together and at first sounds like something from baroque-pop musician, Sufjan Stevens–but the song quickly moves in other directions in to form a warm and sunny song. Which is a refreshing moment as much of this album moves through the icy terrain similar to dark blue hue of the album’s cover. The closer “2 O’clock” features some of her most emotive lyrics and some of her most impressive guitar work on the album. The song has some sparse moments and it brings the record to a fitting close with some shadowy steel guitar.
Carlos Santana, who is sure to make any significant list of “great guitarists,” once said that guitarists are born, not taught. That sounds about right–and Kaki King was definitely born to play guitar. Another important mark in a guitarist is the ability to express emotions so well in the playing that the listener can’t help but feel it themselves. A superb example of this is in The Beatles’ “Something.” This Harrison-led song is surely one of the greatest love songs ever written, with its beautiful lyrics and sad melody–yet, the guitar solo in that song expresses more love, pain, and, joy than all the lyrics combined. Its as if the guitar is talking and singing–this is one of the many gifts that Kaki King has and displays on Dreaming of Revenge. While none of these songs hits the level of “Something,” there are many moments when her guitar talks and sings to the listener and communicates more than many singers’ voices could. Its a singing that guitar lovers and Kaki King fans in particular should hear.
Kaki King
Dreaming of Revenge
Velour, 2008
Rating: 3.5/5.0
