Kelley Karas - ​Shoes!

Kelley Karas

​Shoes!
self-released; 2015

3.5 out of 5

By Ted Rogen
​

Kelley Karas is a singer/songwriter from Nevada who recently released Shoes! It is pretty easy to label her music as indie rock. She has been told her songs bear some resemblance to Sleater-Kinney and yes I can definitely hear that on a number of songs. 

Shoes! is a fairly eclectic album where Karas displays plenty of talent. That being said there are two relatively minor issues I noticed. Some of the songs with more instrumentation such as drums were slightly underwhelming regarding the recording quality. The other thing was timing issues here and there. I don't think anything was glaring but just noticeable. Other than that Shoes! is a great album.

“Venice Vidi Vici” is a punk/indie rock style song. The instrumentation was good but it was her vocals that really were the focal point. When she sings, “There is no mercy in you heart your eyes like knives straight into mine I know that this is the last time we'll meet before your tear me apart,” I was impressed.

“Notice!” sounds really good from the recording quality to the delivery. The song revolves around her acoustic guitar and vocals. When I heard the overlapping harmonies I thought of PJ Harvey. “I Always Win” has some very inventive guitar sounds while “Perfect Torture” has a distinct ‘90s indie rock vibe. 

As the album progresses it goes back and forth between indie rock tunes and acoustic songs. Karas does a good job on both styles, which makes it easy to listen to all the way through. Karas has the goods to deliver. With a little bit of tweaking here and there I think she could be competitive with some of the more notable indie rock bands out there.

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