Khruangbin - A LA SALA Review
Psych-dub trio Khruangbin offer another shallow traipse through middling surf noodling that feels forever one-note.
The title of Khruangbin's latest album A LA SALA comes from the abrupt Spanish announcements made by bassist and co-founder Laura Lee Ochoa when as a young girl would usher her family into the 'front room', to give its English translation. This retreat back into the foundations of the band's roots supposedly makes a creative departure from their former album without collaborators Moredechai, an album critically perceived to be a more gregarious offering of their dusky Thai funk.
It's hard to see where Khruangbin's 'back to basics' principle informs A LA SALA. As is the case of Moredechai and previous records, The trio offer another slice of middling surf psychedelia that overestimates its pastel, yacht Muzak as heady, soulful psych-dub fancying itself scoring some Jodorowsky midnight-movie, rather than looped-in the background of a limp falafel canteen.
The virtuoso musicianship shared between Ochoa, Mark Speer and DJ Johnson is impressive in technique but interest wanes before any given song's over, evident mastery of their respective instruments lost to tedious, lounge noodling that rarely plumbs the meditative depths their sun-kissed soul hints at. 'Three From Two' is the album's worst culprit for this, a slack, Hawaiian-inspired daydream that could easily belong on a KPM stock library compilation, and 'May Ninth' floats idly into the frothy kitsch of Nouvelle Vague (remember them?) at their shallowest.
A LA SALA's few highlights are the keyboard-driven ambient interludes 'Farolim de Felgueiras' and 'Caja de la Sala', two truly evocative pieces which point to a contemplative netherworld the rest of the album never reaches, and album finale 'Les Petits Gris' austere minimalism lilts tersely as an effective, contemplative coda.
Khruangbin's latest offering will certainly enchant their dedicated fanbase but beyond the critical acclaim and festival circuit ubiquity, some might be wondering what all the fuss is about. A LA SALA will not answer these questions, delivering another flat, surface jam that may come to life for a crowd at Coachella, but leaves one wanting much more as a studio cut.