I find this band a bit of an anomaly in today’s music scene. On paper there is no way this band should be successful – they play what they want without any outside pressure, and they play mostly instrumentals (other than the occasional chant), plus they play a mix of differing world music styles. They hail from Texas, and this album draws heavily on influences from the Middle East, Spanish, and Latin music. The band comprise of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald Johnson Jr. on drums. There are guest musicians, but these three are the band and are unbelievably good muso’s.
Khruangbin play seriously chill music, and for me, it hits the perfect spot when you want to really relax and lose yourself in the grooves and feel as though you are in the Texas dessert. Favourite tracks are Maria Tambien, which – as well as the heavy Latin flavour – also has some funk on the side just to make your chills that little bit groovier, and Evan Finds The Third Room, which again adds the funk to proceedings to give it that little fizz. If you want something a little bit different and away from the norm, then I recommend this highly as its a thoroughly enjoyable record.
9/10 from The Grooveman.
