Rippling water, singing birds and endless musical restraint, the latest album by Texan trio Khruangbin transports you to distant soundscapes of chill.
"A la Sala", the band's fourth studio album - which translates from Spanish as "into the room" - is released on Friday, April 5, and is quieter and more intimate than ever before.
Khruangbin (Thai for airplane) made their mark with a funky brand of psychedelic dub surf rock, with sporadic Asian, African and Middle Eastern influences.
This mix of styles, particularly evident on their critically acclaimed 2020 record "Mordechai," is still felt on their latest album, but these 12 new songs are different, bringing out more of the band's rock and jazz side.
Once again we have slow and pared-back instrumental pieces - like "Farolim de Felgueiras" and "Caja de la Sala" - but there are also catchy vocals, and the gentle vocal line of the second song, "May Ninth", makes you feel like you've just woken up on a dreamy spring day.
According to the label, Khruangbin wants to use the album to remind themselves of who they are on the inside. Themes include family, returning home to oneself, intimacy, surrealism and the fact that "home doesn't always have to be a place," they say.
This much is clear from listening to just a few of the trio's songs. Laura Lee Ochoa (bass/vocals), Donald "DJ" Johnson (drums) and Mark Speer (guitar) experimented with old voice messages they had sent from their tours or during past album production.
With its melancholic piano chords, the closing track "Les Petits Gris" provides space to indulge in emotions - just like the album's warm cover art, the view out of a window onto a cloud-covered blue sky.
According to the label, Speer takes a photo from the window during the flight on all of the band's tours. Speaking of which: The band is touring North America and Europe between April and November.
