This is an album I’m currently listening to. Good stuff!
I recently got turned onto Khruangbin (pronounced KRUNG-bin) and this came up when I was listening to them on Apple Music. The vocals reminded me of Wasis Diop’s song “Everything (…Is Never Quite Enough),” from the 1999 film The Thomas Crown Affair, which is my wife’s favorite movie and has an excellent soundtrack and that drew me in. I figured it was Wasis Diop but was surprised it was a singer from Mali named Vieux Farka Touré.
While I’m usually not into vocals and lyrics (except for Neil Peart’s lyrics) because I prefer instrumental songs, I do like Touré’s and Diop’s even though I can’t understand them. One of things that drew me to Khruangbin was their lack of or very few vocals. It was almost like a jazzy synth layer on some of their other albums, not sung in a traditional way with a verse, chorus, hook, etc.
The band itself is pretty minimal, which also is appealing. For the most part they’re guitar, bass and drums. My favorite combo in a band. For me being busy during a song is good, and I personally would rather play in a duo or trio than a huge ensemble band. The bass playing is solid, guitar is great and drums are minimal but fit nicely. Go check them out! -Terry
