It's the beginning of the third decade of the 21st Century, and California indie-pop band THE CORNER LAUGHERS have been with us for a while now – since their 2006 debut, throughout three more albums and in other manifestations such as Karla Kaneand KC Bowman’s recent solo records, the enigmatic Agony Aunts, and a number of other collaborations with kindred spirits. A
fter 2015’s critically acclaimed Matilda Effect, the future of The Corner Laughers was unclear. Circumstances of geography, health and other life complications conspired to push the tight-knit quartet temporarily apart. Temescal Telegraph, the new album out soon via Big Stir Records, stands as a joyful testament to the band being back in full bloom.
While past projects have drawn from a variety of guest contributions from around the globe, for their 2020 return, Kane (vocals, ukulele and most songwriting), Charlie Crabtree (drums) Bowman and Khoi Huynh (sharing guitar, bass and piano duties) recorded their new LP quickly and entirely in the intimate setting of Bowman’s Timber Trout studio in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland, fostering an organic, cohesive and present sound.
But now, as at the start, they are not of this era. They are timeless, but far from “retro”: Yes, you will detect strains of English folk-psych (peak period Kinks by way of Fairport Convention, perhaps), vintage California sunshine pop and hints of alt-country twang. You may be reminded of the literate lyrics and soaring melodies of '80s titans like XTC, Kirsty MacColl and Robyn Hitchcock, or the '90s indie chamber pop of the likes of Belle & Sebastian. Kane's lilt and uke might even lead one to expect a postmodern YouTube sensation (make no mistake, she was there first).
With the exception of that last one, none of those touchstones are, strictly speaking, off base. But they're not why a Corner Laughers record will leave you feeling temporally displaced in an eerily giddy manner. That's down to the songs, built upon what Icon Magazine calls a “nigh-on-perfect fusion of bubblegum-sweet tunefulness and clever, subtly barbed lyrics.”
Temescal Telegraph plays with micro and macro lenses, connecting deeply personal experiences to the cosmic scale. Consider "The Accepted Time", which explores how an everyday walk in one’s hometown can also be an entire universe, or “Lord Richard,” one of several songs that somehow contain the life-death cycle, ecological doom and a hope of redemption in a catchy package. Expect to encounter bees in harmony, witches, ghosts, fallen leaves and omniscient vultures. Moods meander between wistful melancholy and exhilaration. To quote another song, “It’s alright to care.”
These are works full of wit and whimsy which might easily be unfolding “anywhen”, or in several epochs at once. They're all strikingly immediate, but thoroughly unanchored to any conventional notion of “now.” And that's the thematic thread tying together Temescal Telegraph -- a notion of the present alongside, or perhaps even versus, the eternal.
It promises, like all of their records, to be a lovely era in which to lose oneself.
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Karla Kane’s debut solo album, “King’s Daughters Home for Incurables,” leads listeners into an intriguing land of acorns and tea leaves; feminism and fairy tales; pagan pop and pastoral protest songs; whimsical wanderings and sharp observations on the current state of the world. It’s a place for chronic worriers, hopeless romantics, Anglophiles, patriarchy smashers and gentle dreamers, where sunny California indie meets melancholy English folk and the redwood meets the oak.
The first solo release from the singer/songwriter/uke player of The Corner Laughers, the creation of this enchanting acoustic collection was inspired partly by the tours of England she’s undertaken over the past few years. Recorded quickly at home, rather than in a studio with a producer, the album is Kane at her most independent and intimate. Themes include anxious thoughts on motherhood and the passing of time, the search for “home,” and a deep desire to summon optimism and hope in a dark world.
Many of the songs were written under the shade of a beloved oak tree in Kane’s California backyard. Armed with a laptop, her ukulele and a single microphone, she recorded them, usually in the evening, after her young daughter was tucked into bed.
But the simplicity of the set-up doesn’t mean the album is short on sonic riches. Though it has DIY, backyard-pop roots, the album expands its scope from the micro to the macro level. Woven into to many of the songs are the astonishing nature recordings of Richard Youell, which bring the sounds of the English countryside (buzzing beehives, dawn choruses, rainstorms) alive in harmony with Kane’s music. And though it’s officially a solo album, “King’s Daughters Home For Incurables” includes a number of notable guest appearances from England and beyond, including Kane’s songwriting hero Martin Newell (Cleaners from Venus), who contributes vocals and poetry to “Wishing Tree,” and the folk duo Hungrytown, who provide banjo and harmony on the title track. The songs are already accumulating BBC airplay and critical accolades, with Bitch Media calling one “an anti-lullaby for the Trump era.” Concerned Corner Laughers fans, take heart. All three of Kane’s fellow band members appear here, with husband/bandmate Khoi Huynh taking on co-producer duties as well accompanying her on most songs on a variety of instruments (including on two remakes of Corner Laughers works). Listeners familiar with Kane’s previous catalogue will recognize the clever, literate lyric style, and ethereal melodies and harmonies highlighted in her new, folk-inflected direction.
Everyone, at some point, feels like an “incurable” in search of a home. With Kane’s new album, listeners are invited to share in the mix of beauty and confusion in which we all find ourselves in these times. All aboard.
fter 2015’s critically acclaimed Matilda Effect, the future of The Corner Laughers was unclear. Circumstances of geography, health and other life complications conspired to push the tight-knit quartet temporarily apart. Temescal Telegraph, the new album out soon via Big Stir Records, stands as a joyful testament to the band being back in full bloom.
While past projects have drawn from a variety of guest contributions from around the globe, for their 2020 return, Kane (vocals, ukulele and most songwriting), Charlie Crabtree (drums) Bowman and Khoi Huynh (sharing guitar, bass and piano duties) recorded their new LP quickly and entirely in the intimate setting of Bowman’s Timber Trout studio in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland, fostering an organic, cohesive and present sound.
But now, as at the start, they are not of this era. They are timeless, but far from “retro”: Yes, you will detect strains of English folk-psych (peak period Kinks by way of Fairport Convention, perhaps), vintage California sunshine pop and hints of alt-country twang. You may be reminded of the literate lyrics and soaring melodies of '80s titans like XTC, Kirsty MacColl and Robyn Hitchcock, or the '90s indie chamber pop of the likes of Belle & Sebastian. Kane's lilt and uke might even lead one to expect a postmodern YouTube sensation (make no mistake, she was there first).
With the exception of that last one, none of those touchstones are, strictly speaking, off base. But they're not why a Corner Laughers record will leave you feeling temporally displaced in an eerily giddy manner. That's down to the songs, built upon what Icon Magazine calls a “nigh-on-perfect fusion of bubblegum-sweet tunefulness and clever, subtly barbed lyrics.”
Temescal Telegraph plays with micro and macro lenses, connecting deeply personal experiences to the cosmic scale. Consider "The Accepted Time", which explores how an everyday walk in one’s hometown can also be an entire universe, or “Lord Richard,” one of several songs that somehow contain the life-death cycle, ecological doom and a hope of redemption in a catchy package. Expect to encounter bees in harmony, witches, ghosts, fallen leaves and omniscient vultures. Moods meander between wistful melancholy and exhilaration. To quote another song, “It’s alright to care.”
These are works full of wit and whimsy which might easily be unfolding “anywhen”, or in several epochs at once. They're all strikingly immediate, but thoroughly unanchored to any conventional notion of “now.” And that's the thematic thread tying together Temescal Telegraph -- a notion of the present alongside, or perhaps even versus, the eternal.
It promises, like all of their records, to be a lovely era in which to lose oneself.
----------
Karla Kane’s debut solo album, “King’s Daughters Home for Incurables,” leads listeners into an intriguing land of acorns and tea leaves; feminism and fairy tales; pagan pop and pastoral protest songs; whimsical wanderings and sharp observations on the current state of the world. It’s a place for chronic worriers, hopeless romantics, Anglophiles, patriarchy smashers and gentle dreamers, where sunny California indie meets melancholy English folk and the redwood meets the oak.
The first solo release from the singer/songwriter/uke player of The Corner Laughers, the creation of this enchanting acoustic collection was inspired partly by the tours of England she’s undertaken over the past few years. Recorded quickly at home, rather than in a studio with a producer, the album is Kane at her most independent and intimate. Themes include anxious thoughts on motherhood and the passing of time, the search for “home,” and a deep desire to summon optimism and hope in a dark world.
Many of the songs were written under the shade of a beloved oak tree in Kane’s California backyard. Armed with a laptop, her ukulele and a single microphone, she recorded them, usually in the evening, after her young daughter was tucked into bed.
But the simplicity of the set-up doesn’t mean the album is short on sonic riches. Though it has DIY, backyard-pop roots, the album expands its scope from the micro to the macro level. Woven into to many of the songs are the astonishing nature recordings of Richard Youell, which bring the sounds of the English countryside (buzzing beehives, dawn choruses, rainstorms) alive in harmony with Kane’s music. And though it’s officially a solo album, “King’s Daughters Home For Incurables” includes a number of notable guest appearances from England and beyond, including Kane’s songwriting hero Martin Newell (Cleaners from Venus), who contributes vocals and poetry to “Wishing Tree,” and the folk duo Hungrytown, who provide banjo and harmony on the title track. The songs are already accumulating BBC airplay and critical accolades, with Bitch Media calling one “an anti-lullaby for the Trump era.” Concerned Corner Laughers fans, take heart. All three of Kane’s fellow band members appear here, with husband/bandmate Khoi Huynh taking on co-producer duties as well accompanying her on most songs on a variety of instruments (including on two remakes of Corner Laughers works). Listeners familiar with Kane’s previous catalogue will recognize the clever, literate lyric style, and ethereal melodies and harmonies highlighted in her new, folk-inflected direction.
Everyone, at some point, feels like an “incurable” in search of a home. With Kane’s new album, listeners are invited to share in the mix of beauty and confusion in which we all find ourselves in these times. All aboard.
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