Kaki King’s new album Junior is a beautiful work, presenting the New York musician’s talent while taking a new direction in style. The album artwork is minimal. Crimson, gold, and black outline a silhouette of Kaki King holding a radio on top of a city skyline. A theme of espionage takes precedence on the cover. There’s a beautiful photograph of Kaki on the inside cover, as she holds a jacket over her shoulders. Kaki tastefully shows skin and ferociously ganders off in the distance. Her eyes demonstrate a sensual and stoic “you want me but can’t have me” attitude. The presentation of the album is simple, environmentally conscious, and economical. Junior’s music outweighs its presentation by a long shot.

Kaki King is widely known as a master of the guitar. She made a name for herself as a soloist through techniques like finger tapping, four part harmonies, harmonics, percussive slaps, and compound meter. The ability to play acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar, and sitar provides Kaki with a wide range of sounds. A classical background took her playing to a groundbreaking level but beauty always overrides technique in her music. Kaki is an effects wizard which helps her music sound fresh, both live and in the studio. On Junior, she takes a direction in pop experimentation while maintaining her status as a musician’s musician.

“The Betrayer” is the first track. It begins with an eerie ambience and a repetitive guitar lick with good dynamic contrast. This theme prevails through the track with lots vocal reverb. The lyrics are dark and emotional with a theme of evil intentions. The form is a simple rock ABA with a common 4/4 drum pattern. The next track “Spit it Back in My Mouth,” is a bit happier, as Kaki King’s clean electric guitar tone appears in the mix. I really love the guitar work on this track. The vocal reverb is heavier than “The Betrayer” and the beat has a dance feel. She uses eighth note triplets during a guitar break with keyboard electronics in the background. These electronics compliment the track’s prevailing guitar work. Kaki King’s lyrics are dirty and raw, giving a sense of ironic sexual energy.

“Everything Has an End, Even Sadness,” is my favorite work on the album. It’s a slow instrumental jam and is simply beautiful. Kaki plays her clean guitar tone with wonderful dynamics and intricate melodies that repeat themselves in an ABA form. Long trumpet tones and electronics make the phrasing delightfully musical. “Falling Day” begins with yet more guitar work, as Kaki shows she means business through 7/8 meter to drive the rhythm forward. When the drums come in, the track slows down to 7/4 meter. The beat feels as if it skips which I found interesting. A build up to the chorus uses a massive amount of electronics which progresses into a 4/4 punk rock style.

“The Hoopers of Hudspeth” is a tune that compliments Kaki’s vocal lines with an acoustic guitar. The simplicity here contributes to the general flow of the album. There is a chill trumpet solo and light piano chord progression in the mix. “My Nerves That Committed Suicide,” is another beautiful instrumental jam. Kaki keeps her acoustic guitar on this track, as arpeggiation provides framework for the tune. Spanish chords dominate the underlying progression. The main melody involves a slide guitar and trumpet playing in unison. This melody appears throughout the track as it crescendos into a sonic blast that is introduced with no warning. “My Nerves That Committed Suicide” exits with a ritard and uses the same theme heard at the beginning of the track.

“My Communist Friends,” uses a simple rock groove and repetitive guitar work. The chords are a bit odd, as the last chord in the progression moves up a half step. My favorite part of this tune are the lyrics that state “My communist friends, they want to help me,” in the first chorus and “My communist friends, they want to kill me,” in a later chorus. I felt the lyrics of this track were ironic and enjoyed the heavy rock section at the end. “Hallucinations from my Poisonous German Streets,” begins with another instrumental jam. It introduces a creepy steel guitar melody with dark piano chords much louder in the mix. Later on, vocals are introduced in a contrasting section that crescendos to another sonic assault. I was not convinced the drummer on the album was talented until I heard his amazing solo towards the end of this track.

“Death Head” is my least favorite track on the album. It begins with a punk feel maintained through the track. However, the vocals on the chorus were well produced. I liked the section where a bass heavy keyboard mimics earlier guitar patterns. The electronic tones used were among the best of the album. “Sloan Shore,” is an entirely instrumental work and I loved it. Kaki returns to her roots with an acoustic guitar, sticking to its low range and using beautiful harmonics. The guitar melody has a touch of bluegrass, but the best aspect of this track is a melody that has been laced with electronic effects. The melodic instrument sounds a lot like acoustic piano but might have been done through guitar effects. The rhythm of this melody is simple quarter notes but the tone it creates sounds amazing. Also, drums are left out which gives it an easy feel.

“Sunnyside” is the final track of the album and is a melancholy ode to Kaki King’s ex- girlfriend. I found the lyrics to be funny and ironic as the guitar maintains a simple pattern of offbeat comping. A beautiful grand piano accompaniment helps the chorus. This is the saddest song on the album because Kaki King conveys her emotions on a deeply personal level.

On Junior, Kaki King creates a pop album mixing rock techniques with some more complex musical concepts. Her voice is wonderful and the guitar work is even better. I enjoyed the instrumental tracks the most because they provided a good flow to the album. The instrumentals also show great musicianship. There is a sense of melancholy on the album stated by the lyrics and melodies alike. Kaki King’s sense of ironic humor gives us a piece of her while leaving plenty for us to figure out on our own. This album, sold at a reasonable price, is definitely worth adding to the music lover’s collection.

Published Wednesday 21st April 2010 - Written by Alex Tate