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Re-inventing the concept album
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This review first appeared in the October 26, 2006 issue of the North County Times.
San Diego's K23 Orchestra is one of the more exploratory hip hop acts going – far closer to, say, The Brand New Heavies than any rapper you might name.
Yes, the vocals by Al Howard are chanted – but they're chanted atop a recognizable melody. There's even an instrumental track ("Drifting Nexus") on the band's new CD, "Whisper of a Newborn Ghost." Oh, and the instrumental – written by guitarist Travis W. Daudert – is performed by a string trio before the whole arrangement seamlessly devolves into the next track, "Pulse."
Nothing on this release seems random; there is a sense of purpose and vision here that reminds more than a little of the "concept" albums of the 1970s by bands like Pink Floyd or the Alan Parsons Project. As with those albums, "Whisper of a Newborn Ghost" is a work in and of itself, and not just a collection of songs thrown together. There's a narrative here that arches over the whole album. And if the messages contained in the lyrics are a bit dark and world-weary at times, they're also full of hope and positive energy.
Daudert's electric guitar work has a pretty strong jazz vibe to it, while keyboardist Josh Rice Keys has an R&B groove to his playing. Drummer Steve Craft and bassist Matt LaBarber lay down a simmering funk backbeat that may vary in meter and tempo, but never in how rock-steady it is.
If there's anything lacking here, it's a real hit – a song with a hook so strong you can't get it out of your head. Several tracks come close, but none really succeeds.
Still, "Whisper of a Newborn Ghost" is far bigger than what most local bands could produce: It is a polished, fully realized work clearly the result of a shared vision and the talent to pull it all together.