Band: Karl Kave
Album: We Are Sun
Label: Unsigned
Home Base: Zürich, Switzerland
Website: https://karlkave.bandcamp.com/
Karl Kave’s latest album is the perfect blend of lo-fi, garage, electronic beats, and post-punk. It’s vibes range from outlaw country to pogo punk, but it rocks the entire time. When I listened through, I was reminded of bands like The Exploited, The Cramps, Gap Dream, and Orville Peck. I was also reminded of the original soundtrack of the show “Twin Peaks”. These albums are of my favorites.
The instrumentation ranges throughout from clean and almost sappily romantic-sounding to dark and bruiting. Vocally, all the songs have hints of darkness. It’s the way the vocals and instruments are mixed together and the effects added that drive the impact of the album to the next level. There are twists and turns throughout that make the album more fun the more you listen to it.
Some favorite tracks
Dreaming– This song starts out and sounds like it will be a super sappy love song. Once the lyrics come in, the story and it’s setting suddenly change. I’m a huge fan of relatable lyrics and this song has some that really resonate with me.
We Are Sun- I really enjoyed this song because it was so different and bluntly sad sounding in comparison to many of the others. The beat is really cool, like its made mostly from patting lets and clapping hands. This song is really minimalistic in comparison to the others with only vocals, a drum machine, light effects, and an acoustic guitar.
You Left My Heart in New York City- This song is a really great mash-up of indie and country. The lyrics are sad, they tell a story about heartbreak and the big let downs. The lyrics tell a vivid story, but the instrumentation pushes it along. The slow pace adds to the longing feeling the lyrics spell out and adds a heaviness to your heart that words can’t achieve.
Listening through this album made me really miss going to shows. All I could think about while I listened through was how fun this show would be to see live. I could imagine it. Everyone dancing to songs like “Dreaming” and “Yesterday We’ll Be Dead” and then the crowd falls silent during the slower songs as to not miss a single word. I would love to be at that show.
I really enjoyed listening to this album. The ups and downs were paced perfectly. It was lo-fi, moody, romantic-sounding, and generally amazing. If you’re looking for something new and different that pays heavy homage to the post-punk, indie, goth, and outlaw country genres, then this is the album for you.