Khruangbin
Hasta el Cielo
Release Date: Jul 12, 2019
Genre(s): R&B, Reggae, Dub, Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Neo-Psychedelia, Instrumental Rock, R&B Instrumental, Deep Funk Revival
Record label: Dead Oceans
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Album Review: Hasta el Cielo by Khruangbin
Very Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 7/10
You need more than one hand to count the number of genres that have been ascribed to Khruangbin: funk, psychedelic, dub, world, jazz and soul, coupled with a globe-spanning taste in music. Mixing airtight grooves with a nocturnal atmosphere, the band's take on funk is loose and meditative, one that somehow sits comfortably in the background, yet demands your full attention at the same time. Hasta El Cielo is subtitled Con Todo El Mundo in Dub; it strips back the previous record's already bare sound even thinner. It's an intriguing ….
Based on rating 6.3/10
Khruangbin are a conundrum. The Houston band with a Thai name has skillfully showcased a crate digger's approach to global sounds, setting heads nodding by homing in on southeast Asian funk (2015 debut The Universe Smiles Upon You) before widening out into styles from Iran and the French Antilles (last year's Con Todo El Mundo). At the same time, despite Khruangbin's globe-trotting narrative, their more obvious sonic touchstones are among American music's most heavily sampled, whether the Isley Brothers' "Footsteps in the Dark" or the Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache.
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