Khruangbin - Mordechai Review
there’s still something severely off with Khruangbin, whether that’s their almost forced vocals or lack of overall cohesion.
Khruangbin are back with Mordechai. The album gets its name from Laura Lee’s friend who invited her to go hiking with his family whilst she was in a bad headspace. Recounting the story of the hike, Laura described entering a waterfall and feeling rejuvenated upon her return. After this she was inspired to write pages of words which would eventually coalesce into this album’s lyrics. To understand this album you have to understand Khruangbin as a band and what their aims are. This is a definite effort for them as they have tried to place the vocals as the focal point of their sound. However, this desire seems occasionally excessive or forced and rarely actually benefits the tracks.
The opener “First Time” is a great example of what I’ve mentioned above. It is a frustratingly slow opener: a track that rarely delivers the punch of the lead single ‘Time (You & I)’. Its thick bass tones and shimmering guitars mark for the classic Khruangbin sound that fans have come to expect but the vocals in this track are rarely more than unnecessary and monosyllabic.
The following track “Time (You & I)” is undeniably a banger and probably Khruangbin’s most successful track to date. Its funky bass lines and chorus-drenched disco guitar lines make for an incredibly fun and catchy track. Unfortunately, this single really gave me hope that the rest of the record could be in a similar vein, or at least use these vocals powerfully. The track that immediately follows completely shatters that expectations as Khruangbin pivot to some weird wannabe-sexy whispering. The vocals of “Connaissais de Face” are so genuinely lame it totally ruins the track. Three tracks in, this is already a mixed bag.
Somehow the album takes another turn after this track. ‘Father Bird, Mother Bird’ has a real peacefulness to it. Unlike other tracks on this record it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to be something it’s not. It’s smooth, spacious and atmospheric. Perfect music for the sunny weather we’ve been having. I’m not sure whether I like this track because there’s no vocals or whether there’s just no need for vocals in some of their music. “If There Is No Question” is actually one of my favourite tracks on this record. It feels like their vocal experimentation pays off in this one similarly to ‘Time (You & I)”. However, this one is a lot more relaxing though there’s definitely still a happiness in Khruangbin’s music. Lyrically, this track describes a sage piece of wisdom the band received from friend Lisa Harris. “Lesson 1: If it’s not a yes, it’s probably a no. Lesson 2: If there is no question, the answer is yes.”
“Pelota” is another really enjoyable track on this record. Funky bass lines strut along with hand claps and Mark Speers’ signature guitar sounds. You get a real sense of silliness with this band – it would be incredible to just have a little jam with these guys even if you were just on the maraca. ‘One to Remember’ is ironically one of the most forgettable tracks on the record. Its slow bass lines and obscured vocals make for a track that feels like it’s leading to something that never actually arrives. There’s almost a dub element to this track, which you can only assume they have taken influence from their dub remix album of “Con Todo El Mundo” in creating. Seriously, by about the three-minute mark, you’re curious how Khruangbin can get away with playing such a boring repetitive riff and still somehow keep the listener relatively engaged.
“Dearest Alfred” returns the frustrating vibes of the opener track. Fortunately, there’s a much stronger vocal melody here. Laura Lee’s vocals are actually really complimentary with Khruangbin’s sonic world so I don’t understand why they can’t be more consistent with this. Forcing vocals into every track isn’t quite the same as writing songs for vocals, which is what the pre-release press around this album seemed to imply. This is a very pleasant track but that’s all it amounts to be, blurring in with the other almost half-assed songs on this record.
“So We Won’t Forget” was the second single I heard of the record — at the time I loved it! In the context of the record, it is a much-needed addition but does seem to wash over you like many other tracks on this album. Mark Speers’ guitar is really enjoyable on this track especially the repetitive dreamy guitar sequences he plays around the 1:40 mark. When speaking to Rolling Stone about this song, the band wrote “Memory is a powerful thing. Now more than ever it’s important to tell the people you love that you love them, so that they don’t forget”. I feel like this is, both lyrically and vocally, one of the stronger tracks on the record.
The last track on the album “Shida” starts quite forceful and seems almost like (the first ten seconds anyway) should have been the album opener rather than the closer. There’s energy in this track that ironically seems to be lacking on the rest of the project. Leaving you with a real head-scratching feeling once the song concludes. The track revolves around another repetitive riff; but this time there’s a real beauty and movement to it. Unfortunately this track ends quite abruptly to little fan fair, leaving the album on a weirdly lopsided high note.
My biggest issue with this record is the promise of vocals. While they technically fulfil this promise, I was expecting catchier melodies like the lead single and that truly was not the case. Rarely do the vocals amount to more than oo’s and ah’s on half of the tracks — and that’s not to mention the borderline cringe-inducing whispered back and forth on ‘Connaissais de Face’. In reality, this album is a massive step up from their last. But there’s still something severely off with Khruangbin, whether that’s their almost forced vocals or lack of overall cohesion. Rarely do you feel a theme shine through this record other than that they unsuccessfully added vocals to most of the tracks. The music is relaxing and enjoyable at times but this lack of cohesion really makes for a confusing listen.
