Candied Pop

I’ll admit that I had some serious reservations about this album after sampling the single “Manifest” as I found the inclusion of lackluster rhyming to be a tad off-putting and it did not help my impressions of the album much on first listen that this track is the opener. That being said, the rest of the tracks on the album quickly changed my bias and even warmed my slightly to the single I had maligned. Broken English is Kale’s super star album featuring cameos from many of his labelmates at Six Degrees Records and possessing a decidedly radio friendly slant though maintaining the Bollywood influenced worldliness that his work is known for, though it is interesting to note that as cultures continue to cross pollinate music such as this sounds less exotic each day which isn’t to say that it is mundane, just more familiar. From the Kale’s page at Six Degrees Records:

Recently, Karsh Kale has been increasingly adamant that words like “exotic” don’t really apply to his music. “This music comes from New York,” he told one writer. “It really shouldn’t be treated differently from any other music that comes from New York.” And he’s right: it’s the Bhangra and Bollywood of Jackson Heights, the hip hop of Brooklyn and the South Bronx, the electronica of the Chelsea nightclubs, and the rock-n-roll of the Lower East Side.

Broken English spans multiple genres and often in the span of a single song. “Free Fall” is a dance track that spins wildly about with a catchy pop hook with Trixie Reiss offering a vocal performance that locks tightly to the bump and grind of the drum programming. Layered on top of it is a lush flute arrangement that cools the tempo slightly and provides a nice backdrop for Sabiha Khan’s Indian vocals. It is a piece infectious confectionery possessing actual substance and is by far one of my favorite tracks on the album as well as from Kale’s catalog.

“City Lights” finds Kale mining completely new material as the track is a straight ahead power ballad, though not in the traditional 80’s definition of the genre. Rather it is more of a blend of Rock and Electronica, similar in feel to what was popularized by bands like Garbage in the mid 90’s, but still maintaining a contemporary feel. Todd Michaelsen provides the vocals and while on earlier tracks he sounds like he is channeling Thom Yorke, “Dancing at Sunset” being the prime example, here he sounds as if he is projecting his personality and his voice fits well with the crunching guitars and reverb drenched piano and string swells. The commercial feel of the track is tempered by the inclusion of Indian style arrangements that flesh out the performance. On another ballad Dierdre of Ekova fame lends her talent to “Innocence and Power” which seems tailor made for her ethereal voice with soft string pads, flutes, and hushed piano line all supported by a glitchy drum and bass rhythms and serves to remind the listener at Kale’s talent of composing for and around artists.

By the last track Broken English had won me over. It is a testament to Kale’s strength as a composer and a producer to create an album that sounds at once familiar and new by blending so many varied musical traditions into one appealing Pop construct. Very highly recommended.

You can pick it up at either eMusic or Amazon.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 5th, 2006 at 1:35 pm and is filed under 2006, Album, Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.