• Calgary ex-pat offers diverse but uneven effort from Montreal.
There have always been two sides to Kara Keith — the virtuosic pianist and the pop chanteuse. On her latest outing, Vision’s Fugitives, there seems to be a greater division between the two. With the help of her backing band (smirkingly known as Your Dignity), Keith’s arrangements are more diverse than ever.
There are moments when she sounds like a piano-playing Kim Deal, albeit with orchestral flourishes. The surprisingly muscular title track and the propulsive “Heart Beats” dress up traditional indie rock with trilling flute solos and buoyant trumpets. As the album progresses, Keith delves into a smoky cabaret, complete with tango rhythms and emotive chamber music swells.
Despite this show of ambition, these tracks aren’t as strong as the quirked-out piano pop numbers earlier in the album. As a result, Vision’s Fugitives has the feeling of two albums jammed together, rather than one cohesive piece.
Post the first comment: (Login or Register)