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By: Dennis Cook
This sticks to the roof of your mind AND the soles of your feet. Ass doesn't need to follow mind; they are already in unison. The K23 Orchestra cook up a bangin' mélange of burbling electro undertows, prog rock ambition, battle rhymes, dirty sweat sock funk and a dash of Tabasco for heat. Whisper Of A Newborn Ghost is what Rahsaan Roland Kirk would've sounded like if he'd lived into the age of the iPod.
Opener "Big In El Portal" jumps you like a lost Organized Konfusion classic, a forceful juggling act of Herculean rock riffs and hip-hop tongue twisting. Throughout, singer/wordsmith Al Howard exhibits the linguistic kung fu of Gil Scott-Heron and Blackalicious' Gift of Gab.
The whirling, organ-driven jam on "Whoop Tee Dee" kicks early Santana's long buried bones, and the a cappella epilogue has the potency of prophecy which adds poignant punctuation. From funhouse Latin Rock to enchanting strings and bruising beats, Newborn Ghost moves with assured disregard for genre restrictions. Parts will make you reach for your bongos and turtleneck. Others strut with weird, sunshine energy – purifying light to sterilize the bacteria of the modern condition.
Small touches like the "Wade In The Water" quotation on "Ace," the spy movie breakout on "Omar" or the trailing repetition of phrases like "Magnetic resurrection" accumulate like volcanic ash, new layers forming and cooling all the time. "Connected" could be a particularly potent Pharcyde jammy except for the Allman Brothers/Yes instrumental digressions and Deep Purple-esque tail section. There's little commercial coddling here. As incongruous as these elements sound on paper it all ties together beautifully. Unlike obvious peer Saul Williams, K23 knows a lil' junk in the trunk always helps shake us free from our preconceptions.
Put simply, grand shit with zero borders and big, blue skies. Check it.
JamBase | Outer Limits
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