Khruangbin – Mordechai

I was unaware of Khruangbin until their recent project with Leon Bridges: Texas Sun. That EP had a vintage R&B meets the Grateful Dead vibe: psychedelic soul. I listened to their other stuff and it did not grab me. But the teaser singles from Mordechai clicked – enough so that I was looking forward to the full album. I liked the stream of the LP enough to pick up the wax.

At times Mordechai sounds like Chic as a jam band. Other times it sounds like instrumental Jerry Garcia. And yet other times it has a world music flavor: Latin, Middle Eastern, Asian and African spices. No matter what, it is always funky. Based on some googling about the band I learned:

Their debut studio album, The Universe Smiles Upon You (2015), draws from the history of Thai music in the 1960s, while their second album, Con Todo El Mundo (2018), has influences from Spain and the Middle East.

Per Wikipedia

I have not given those albums a fair listen, but Mordechai feels like a band hitting full stride. The band’s sound is fresh and hard to place. Of particular interest to me is the bass guitar. Give this album a listen and if it catches your fancy check out this podcast where the band explains how they built one of the album’s tracks (“So We Won’t Forget”). You will also learn a little bit about the band – they are fascinating. I highly recommend this album – give it a listen.