Rob’s Album Of The Week: Khruangbin’s Mordechai

The evolution of a band’s sound is often an interesting thing to witness. The first few records usually show some experimentation while the third installment reaches the apex. When that happens, the band’s identity is formed and artistic independence becomes evident. Houston psychedelic rock trio Khruangbin has captured this essence with their latest album, Mordechai, that came out on June 26 via the labels Dead Oceans & Night Time Stories. It’s a pristine representation of an act taking the Thai, Middle Eastern and Latin influences of their prior releases and melding them into something purely original.

There’s a bit more harmony this time around between bassist Laura Lee and guitarist Mark Speer on vocals. It compliments the groovy tones in wonderful ways, especially with Speer’s chords and progressions establishing a major foundation. Donald “DJ” Johnson drumming also brings complex tempos to what’s being played. Sometimes he has a laid back beat while other times he performs a ton of fills. This album has small differences versus the rest of Khruangbin’s discography, but that’s what you get when musicians are pushing their craft forward.

We’re on to a new month and while some things have changed, things still remain the same. Regardless of your feelings on what went down, we all have to agree that June 2020 is a month that will stick…