Khruangbin - "A La Sala"

Breathe and relax

This Texas trio is a group that’s entirely new to me, so I cannot speak for their previous discography, but this Psych Rock fusion group has been actively producing music since 2015, and each of their albums, including this one, has charted somewhere.

And that’s the impressive bit. See, this isn’t anything anywhere close to your mainstream rock band. A La Sala is comprised of atmospheric Psychedelic Rock fused with Latin, Jazz, Soul, and a number of other styles and genres. Each track is really its own thing and the majority of the album is instrumental; only “May Ninth” and “Hold Me Up (Thank You)” really have anything resembling traditional vocals; and even then, those take a backseat to the instrumentation. Other tracks, like “Pon Pon” have some spoken lines, often in Spanish, sometimes whispered.

And when I say that this record is ‘atmospheric’, I don’t mean it in the same sense that you might get from an Airbag or Sigur Ros album. It’s different here; you can feel the space – the air – between the instruments. The compositions are really minimalistic, but it’s minimalism done right.

But the really wild thing about the atmospheric quality to these songs is that they’re all very much bass-forward. The bass is the most immediately-noticeable element in the mix, and yet it doesn’t tie you down in any sense. It isn’t wholly foundational here; it works in support of the guitar to flesh out the song as there is not always a clearly-defined melody. And the bass line performs double-duty, supporting both harmony and rhythm effortlessly.

A La Sala doesn’t give us “bangers” or “bops”. That’s not what Khruangbin is about; not on this album, anyhow. Rather, this album provides expertly-crafted jams which are perfect for background music. The whole album is being dropped into my work playlist shortly.

If you need background noise to help you focus; if you need airy music to just help you breathe… This album might be for you. 

Rating: Green