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Written
by Frank McClure, posted by blog admin
KALO,
led by singer/guitarist extraordinaire Bat-Or Kalo, is based out of Oklahoma
and has earned a reputation in recent years as one of the most individual roots
based music acts working today. They’ve advanced deep into numerous music
competitions as well as headlining or being featured on a number of festival
bills. This is a band that makes long-standing forms like blues, R&B, and
funk sound like they are the first band to tackle it thanks to the rocking,
two-fisted passionate approach they take to the music. There’s a wonderfully
visceral live quality to the performance as well – it sounds like they recorded
this album with all the musicians in the room and the combustible interplay
between the three piece lights up each of the eleven songs on the latest
release Wild Change. This is their fourth release overall and sees the band
reaching a fever pitch with their musical talents.
It
certainly comes out of the gates swinging. “One Mississippi” is a pleasant
listen, but a hard hitting tune nonetheless. Mike Alexander’s drumming attack
has a strong edge while still swinging wide and steadily while Kalo’s sinewy
guitar lines crackle with tension from the outset. The song is, very much so,
in a well worn blues tradition, but KALO makes it sound fresh thanks to Kalo’s
vocal and the forcefulness of the band’s instrumental attack. “Isabel” comes
from the same bluesy school but it has a much heavier hand than the opener and
Kalo’s guitar sounds much more massive than before. Her capacity for lung
busting vocals knows no apparent limit. “Upside Down”, however, affords her
chance to lighten her approach some The horns included in this track give it
added attitude and Kalo’s singing seems to draw considerable inspiration from
their presence in the song. “Fix” is one of the more commercially minded songs on
the album thanks to its easy to grasp metaphor, the wideness of its
application, and the impact of a big and memorable chorus. Kalo ramps it up
especially during those moments. It’s one of the most rousing tracks,
ultimately, included on Wild Change.
The
title song is equally punchy thanks to its unstoppable guitar riff and the
muscular, yet infinitely musical, rhythm section. The wicked snarl on Kalo’s guitar
is a signature sound we keep hearing again and again on Wild Change and it
finds it near perfect expression on this cut. Kalo’s singing is particularly
impassioned. “Pay to Play” steps away from the blues in a memorable way with a
funk infused track that gives the band’s rock chops an added spike of energy. “Calling
All Dreamers” closes Wild Change with an sensitively rendered acoustic track
that Kalo’s voice gets inside of quite nicely. The lyrics are among the finest
on the album and we are afforded a chance to really appreciate for a final time
their talents in that area thanks to the low key setting. KALO’s third studio
album shows that the band is still hungry, still restless, and looking to
improve with each new live performance and recording. This is one step closer,
if nothing else, to fully realizing their potential.
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