Complimentary

I can't play an instrument to save my life. Not the guitar or a flute. Not the drums or a harmonica. Maybe a tambourine. Maybe. Which is a shame really, because I love music so much and would love to make music of my own. If I could play a lick (or sing and not make people cover their ears), I'd want to be in a band like KaiserCartel. I'd like to be paired up with someone that when put together, we became one. I've written about them before (here, here, and interviewed them here), declared their debut full length March Forth one of my favorite albums of 2008, and just generally carried on about my love of them and their music. With the release of their sophomore effort, Secret Transit, I'll continue with my fawning.

Self released with the help of fan support, the album continues on with their mesmerizing pairing of vocals and instruments, resulting in a blend that's irresistible to my ears. The album opens up with the ghostly Riverboat Dream, a song that slowly tunes in with a haunting tone, and closes with The Wait, another sparse, elongated song that twists into an almost dreamlike stream before fading out. In between, its music runs the gamut: from the energetic and driving Carroll Street Station to the quietly contemplative Memphis (the end of the spectrum that the duo tends to draw towards more, and rightly so as they do it wonderfully).

To recommend this album would really do it a disservice. Plead? Implore? Just buy it.

KaiserCartel - Carroll Street Station : Secret Transit

KaiserCartel -Good Ones : March Forth

KaiserCartel - Shira : Daytrotter Session

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