Kashmir - No Balance Palace

I've been listening to this record on and off for a while now and it has really grown on me a lot. It's really really accessible though. Imagine the Danish doing a really ironically subdued, raw, live-sounding The Benz, throw in some noisey minimalist guitar work, throw in some stream of consciousness, dark, and abstract lyrics about love, restlessness, hedonism, general debauchery, and the decline of Western culture, and you have Kashmir's latest "No Balance Palace." The guitar tone on this record is really phenomenal. It's this ambient noise-pop tone but it's absurdly clear. You can hear everything on this record if you're paying attention. That's the key to this band. You have to pay attention. "Refrigerate your fire", moans vocalist Kasper Eistrup on "Ether", one of the albums' most interesting tracks. Indeed this is the theme of the record. It's moody and reserved but there is always a lot going on musically. It always sounds like its going to explode, but even at the "climaxes", there's something ominous and haunting about the lack of energy the band conveys. Every song feels like you're in the studio with them at four in the morning, everyone is absurdly tired, and then all of a sudden this little gem of musical inspiration takes place and you hear the band spontaneously break out in this catchy song that wakes you up a little and makes you want to keep recording. It does sound stream of consciousness, it does sound raw, it does sound like a guy wrote a bunch of songs and then they jammed 'em out in the studio. They're really thoughtful arrangements though and I think it works. Surprise! David Bowie is featured on "The Cynic" to join Kasper for the "Don't let it be for real, don't tell me how it feels" reprise. You can play this for your girlfriend, for your mom, for your musician geek buddies, for anyone. It's accessible psych indie pop and it immediately sounds familiar. It also does not suck. The more you listen to it, the more original and special you realize this album is.



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