I put on Clue to Kalo's album One Way, It's Every Way in the background as I had planned to research some car insurance. A mellow album, nicely suited to background music, if it weren't so damn perfect. I didn't even make it through the first track "the younger the old", clocking in at a minute, thirty-seven, before I gave up on GeicoŽ (don't worry, I caught up on that later). The first track starts off with a creaking chair and a softy strummed guitar. A gentle wash of cascading electronic blips and beeps sneak their way in building a richly textured musical backdrop that provides an introduction to the layered vocal tracks. The album plays as a whole rather than a track to track affair. Raising a finger towards the skip or shuffle button would be a bit of a shame and ruin the intended effect of One Way. Mark Mitchell, the voice and talent behind Clue to Kalo, makes beautiful music partly grounded here on earth, and partly floating in the ether. One Way, Its Every Way is book-ended by two similarly named tracks, the afore-mentioned "the younger the old" and the final track "the older the young". The remaining eight chapters/songs in between make for a rewarding listen, worth revisiting. Clue to Kalo's sound might bring to mind at times american analog set, or perhaps, a more organic Postal Service. It seems like the instrumental arsenal at Mitchell's fingertips is limitless and that he's rather adept at all of them. One Way, Its Every Way comes two years in the making and, the album's delicate nuance and headphone - essential harmonies truly displays a labour of love. I'm finding it hard to argue with the label, that with his second album, Mitchell has established himself amongst a growing crowd of bedroom Beethovens and/or Brian Wilsons. Seeing as how One Way would be worth it's price for the album artwork alone, you really ought to do yourself a favor and decorate your walls and please your ears. - Slightly Confusing to a Stranger |