krko - preface

KRKO

PREFACE
self-released; 2014

3.7 out of 5

By Jamie Robash

One of the most primary things that many emerging singer-songwriters seem to forget is that everyone has problems not just them. This same fact seems to have eluded KRKO who has made an album full of I’s, which under the tutelage of other solo artists can be used to lament as well as reflect on the larger problems we all face. Unfortunately some of the eight songs on KRKO’s Preface sound more like cries for help rather than songs a listener can relate to. 

With that now said however, KRKO can well be proud of his musicianship, which consists largely of a well-strummed acoustic guitar that the artist taught himself how to play at the age of eleven, though he claims to have “never thought much of it.” He goes on to say that one night in college during a moment of “existential angst” brought on by watching the film Amadeus, that he needed to seriously start writing music and the efforts of those thoughts are what culminated into the eight songs which make up his debut solo record Preface. 

Preface opens with the soft and pretty “The Shore,” which vocally begs for comparisons to both Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon as well as Paul Simon and musically pairs acoustic guitar plucks and an eerie pan flute. There is no denying the he has an attractive and unique voice. By the time the song’s successor track “War,” which mostly employs the same sentiment, comes into play, one begins to get the idea they’ve heard this song before. The next track, “Diverge” despite all the efforts of its more quickly strummed strings doesn’t really diverge from the pattern that Preface follows from the onset, further evidence of which can be noted on the instrumental “Incremental.”

One of the highlights is the hopeful sounding "Restless". KRKO delivers some of his best vocal harmonies as well as creative guitar patterns. The guitar line he employs towards the end of the song not only displays him flexing his muscles but is a lot of fun to listen to. The final track “Awake” wakes Preface up a bit as a hollowed out piano takes the place of the acoustic guitar while "The Shore" is a beautiful combination of cascading guitar lines.

Overall, there is no denying that KRKO possesses an ample amount of talent. His guitar playing is often creative and can't imagine many people disliking his vocal style. A little tweaking here and there and he should be well on his way. Perhaps Preface, as its title suggests is simply that, an introduction to a larger, fuller bodied work. If that’s the case then KRKO may have a bright future ahead of him. 

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