MUSIC

Khruangbin in concert

PHOTO: JACKIE LEE YOUNG

Around the World

Texas Psych Rock trio Khruangbin brings its distinct blend of global music to Cincinnati

BY L. KENT WOLGAMOTT

Until recently, Khruangbin hadn’t played a show in well over a year. Nor had the Houston Psych Rock trio done any of the songs from their 2020 album, Mordechai, onstage.

So before bassist Laura Lee, drummer Donald Ray “DJ” Johnson Jr. and guitarist Mark Speer were able to return to the road in late 2021, they had to put in some extra rehearsal time to feel like they were back in the swing of things as a live band.

“We had to come back after 600 days of not playing a show and, for the rst time, play songs that we’ve never played before, not to mention songs we haven’t played in almost two years,” Lee says in a recent phone interview

Khruangbin not only got on the road, but also returned as a headlining act. e tour that began last year is continuing into this summer, and visiting such notable venues as New York City’s Radio City Music Hall and the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville before moving up to amphitheaters this summer. Khruangbin stops by the Andrew J Brady Music Center on April 29.

It’s a sign of the growing popularity of the trio, which was formed in 2009 by Johnson and Speer, who played in the St. John’s Methodist Church Gospel band, and then bonded with Lee over a shared love for Afghan music. eir sound is created by combining music from around the world, spinning together ai Funk, Jamaican Dub Reggae, Iranian and East Asian Pop with American R&B, Funk and Soul to create a distinctive original sound.

Finding global music isn’t di cult, Lee says.

“A lot of it happens naturally, it’s what we listen to,” she says. “I was in England for four years. By the end of it, I had a little di erent accent, a di erent cadence to how I’d speak. You naturally pick up on things that you surround yourself with.”

But the key to Khruangbin is not reproducing any of that music, but letting it come through as clearly read in uences on the sound.

“We want to be able to go to ailand and Ethiopia one day, play our songs and have them make a connection with the people there — that they can hear their music, but it’s not a copy,” Lee says. “We’re trying to create something unique and part of that is it can’t be just one thing. With Mordechai, we were trying to pull in everything, as much as we could.”

Johnson says copying songs, phrases or styles might not be heard as lifeless appropriation by listeners who aren’t familiar with the original sounds, but reproducing others’ work doesn’t ring true for him, Lee and Speer.

“When you’re an artist, you know when you do something and it’s too referential, it’s not really you,” he says. “We’re very conscious of that. A lot of people think you go into the studio and jam and that stu just comes out. It doesn’t. It’s done with a lot of thought. Sometimes we’ll analyze every single note before we record it. at’s how deep it can get, how microscopic it can get.”

Khruangbin has released three albums, 2015’s e Universe Smiles Upon You, 2018’s Con Todo el Mundo and 2020’s Mordechai. All of them have been recorded in a barn west of Houston.

“It all starts with bass and drums,” Johnson says of the recording process. “Drums go in rst, the bass follows, that’s the foundation. In terms of the framework, Mark is our singer. Even

Khruangbin

PHOTO: POONEH GHANA

though he’s playing the guitar, he’s interpreting a vocal. e vocal lines are tonal, they create a melody.

“ e songs are really simple in that sense,” he continues. “ ere’s the rhythms and beat of the drums, heavy Reggae-inspired bass and the melody on top.”

Translating the Mordechai songs to live performance is a challenge Khruangbin has had to work at, rst in rehearsal, then onstage as the group brings its acclaimed “you have to see it to get it” live show on the road.

“I had no idea we’re considered such a big act to see,” Lee says. “I’m very proud of that. e record is forever. e shows, for me, have a special quality. It happens one time. You experience it with all these special moments that will never happen again. Creating those moments is a real special thing for us.”

Khruangbin plays the Andrew J Brady Music Center (25 Race St., Downtown) on April 29 with Toro Y Moi. Tickets start at $42. More info: bradymusiccenter.com.

MUSIC

BY JEFF NIESEL

When she was in high school, singersongwriter Chan Marshall, who records and performs as Cat Power, saw the Replacements play. At the concert’s end, singer-guitarist Paul Westerberg arrived without his band to sing the tune “Answering Machine.”

Marshall was struck by the performance, and she acknowledges the Replacements’s in uence on her on her new album, Covers, which includes a rendition of the band’s tune “Here Comes a Regular.”

“He just threw his guitar o his body and ran away after playing it,” she recalls in a recent phone interview. “It impacted me so much. When I moved to New York, I had three favorite songs on the jukeboxes at the two bars I would go to — Sophie’s and Mona’s. I would play ‘You Don’t Know Me’ by Ray Charles and ‘Try Me’ by James Brown at Sophie’s. And then, I would walk to Mona’s and play ‘Here Comes a Regular’ as many times as I could if I had any change left. at song is so beautiful. It’s almost a ballad for the heartbroken and weary who have found alcohol to help them. It’s just crushing.”

Her current tour in support of Covers stops at e Vogue in Indianapolis on April 26 (Cat Power is not coming to Cincinnati on the current tour).

Covers represents Marshall’s third album of cover songs and completes a trilogy — though Marshall says she’s not opposed to recording another album of cover tunes. e tracks started to come together during an organic jam session at Rob Schnapf’s Mant Sound Studio in L.A.

“I like to warm up before the session starts,” Marshall says. “While the band was warming up and I was setting up the mics with Rob to make sure everything sounded good and that we could do everything in a week, I started composing. e band is really talented and open-minded and willing to let me guide them.”

At that rst session, Marshall and Co. proceeded to play what would become the album’s rst set of covers. ey started out with a deconstructed rendition of Bob Seger’s “Against the Wind” that features hushed vocals and fragments of piano and guitar.

“I had never played it before,” she says of the Seger tune. “I got the lyrics and said, ‘Fuck it.’ I got the lyrics and sang it, and we recorded the rst take. It sounded great. I jumped back in and had nothing to sing and was reminded of Nick Cave’s ‘I Had a Dream, Joe.’ Never in a thousand lifetimes would I have thought to cover that song, but we did. I again jumped in the vocal booth and didn’t know what to play and played ‘Endless Sea’ by Iggy Pop.”

Marshall also covers one of her own songs, “Unhate.” She says she regularly revisits an older song of hers when she’s assembling tracks for a covers album.

“I always do a new cover of one of my songs because things change in my life,” she says. “I remember I was in Africa and was singing that song on tour. I thought I was sick. When I came back to America to continue my tour, I found out I was pregnant. When I started to sing that song again, I changed it right away. at song is speci cally about suicide. When I got sober, that’s when I made a pact with myself to not hide anything and not be afraid to ask for help and do the therapy and all of that stu . It helped me be a stronger human. at’s why I didn’t play that song for many years. en, I started playing it again because I changed the words. Everyone gets the blues in a real bad way. It’s just to say, ‘Don’t ever try it.’” e rendition of Nico’s ballad “ ese Days,” a song penned by Jackson Browne, is incredibly beautiful as Marshall’s echoing voice possesses a mercurial, Nico-like quality.

“I think the Velvet Underground in general was a huge in uence on me,” she says. “ ey broke the mold with their sound. Nico broke the mold by becoming a female icon. She was so broken. at European classical way of singing that I wanna say is very Catholic is very in uential. It’s that church-ingrained mentality. It’s like, ‘Don’t speak and don’t have an identity — just conform.’ She brought such strength and grace and elegance and such sadness and darkness. We started playing it on the Wanderer tour. One night, Jackson (Browne) came to the show, and I played it for him, and he liked it and now plays it again when he’s on tour. I got to meet him, and he’s super cool.”

With a career that now stretches back 31 years, Marshall has somehow managed to survive in a world that doesn’t make it easy for independent artists. So what has been the key?

“Basically, it’s been my community,” Marshall says. “It was playing shows with these people and meeting them over and over through the years. Elliott Smith and Sleater-Kinney and Quasi. It’s a long list of di erent bands. at’s what kept me going. Lana Del Rey asked me to go on tour with her when I was dropped from my record label. Being a part of the music community has kept me going.

“It’s that community, and the community that would come to these shows and o er places to sleep on their oors. I developed those friendships all around the world. In all these di erent places, I have friends who are not part of a clique. ey’re not part of the scene. We forti ed each other as a peer group. Maybe we weren’t so happening. ese are painters and writers and di erent people I’ve met along the way. I think that’s what helped me survive.”

Cat Power

PHOTO: MARIO SORRENTI

Cat Power plays The Vogue (6259 N. College Ave., Indianapolis) at 8 p.m. April 26. Tickets are $35. More info: thevogue.com.

is story was originally published by CityBeat sister paper Cleveland Scene.

RIVERFRONT LIVE PRESENTS: RIVERFRONT LIVE PRESENTS: UPCOMING SHOWS

UPCOMING SHOWS The Werks Saturday, April 30, 2022 (Indoor Show) Lit

Heart Attack // Tuk Smith // Settle Your Scores // Pilot Around The Stars Friday, May 6, 2022 (Indoor Show) Rivergrass Music Festival Yonder Mountain // Lil Smokes // Armchair Boogie // Stirngus Kahn Saturday, May 7, 2022 (Outdoor Show) Sticky – Indoor Late Set Rivergrass Music Festival Yonder Mountain // Lil Smokes // Armchair Boogie // Stirngus Kahn Sunday, May 8, 2022 (Outdoor Show) Master Of Tributes Saturday, May 14, 2022 (Indoor Show) Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Wednesday, May 25, 2022 (Indoor Show) Muscadine BloodlineDark Star Orchestra Thursday, June 9, 2022(The Grateful Dead Experience) (Indoor Show)September 24th & 25th Phil Vassar Friday, June 24, 2022 (Indoor Show) Horseshoes & Hand Grenades w/ Kyle Tuttle Band, The Tillers and Restless Leg String Band One Nation Under A Groove Tour:October 1st George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic The Lacs The Motet Pimps Of Joytime October 8th Sunday, June 26, 2022 (Outdoor Show) Samantha Fish Perpetual GrooveOctober 21st Friday, July 8, 2022 (Indoor Show) SteelDrivers November 6th The Dead South Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band & Buckcherry March 19th Tejon Street Corner Thieves Thursday, August 11, 2022 (Outdoor Show) Mimosa Fest Sunday, August 21, 2022 (Outdoor Show)

Dark Star Orchestra (The Grateful Dead Experience) September 24th & 25th Horseshoes & Hand Grenades w/ Kyle Tuttle Band, The Tillers and Restless Leg String Band October 1st The Lacs October 8th Samantha Fish October 21st SteelDrivers November 6th Buckcherry March 19th

STAY TUNED FOR MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING SOON! STAY TUNED FOR MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING SOON! For more information on tickets, shows & policy, please visit: @RiverfrontLive RiverfrontLiveCincy.Com (513) 417-4555

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TICKETS, SHOWS & POLICY, PLEASE VISIT: @RIVERFRONTLIVE RIVERFRONTLIVECINCY.COM (513) 417-4555 Where Performances Become Legend STAY TUNED FOR MORE BE NICE OR LEAVE ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING SOON!

SOUND ADVICE

H.E.R.

Tuesday, April 26 • Andrew J Brady Music Center

H.E.R., who recently made waves with her soulful single, “Damage,” is set to blaze through the Andrew J Brady Music Center this month. at track most recently earned her a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance, though it was her song “Fight For You” — written for the lm Judas and the Black Messiah — that nabbed her the award for Best Traditional R&B Performance. If you hadn’t heard of her before this year’s Grammys, you most likely know who she is now (the album that “Damage” is on, Back of My Mind, also was nominated for Album of the Year and Best R&B Album).

While not exactly unknown, H.E.R. — the stage name of 24-year-old Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson — has managed to slide under the radar of the general music-loving population for a few years. ough she’s been performing since she was a young teen, her real “breakthrough” came in 2016 with the release of her debut EP H.E.R. Vol. 1. Even then, if you weren’t listening to R&B radio or taking musical recommendations from NPR (which named it one of the ve “Essential R&B Albums You Slept On in 2016”), you were probably unaware of her existence. en came 2020 and her captivating performance of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” for the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards’ “In Memoriam” segment. at was followed up by a 2021 Super Bowl pregame appearance and, most recently, her powerhouse performance at this year’s Grammys.

During the awards show, the singer started a musical medley with her deep and moody singles “Damage” and “We Made It,” with producers/songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on keytar and bass, respectively. en she quickly launched into a showstopping performance of “Are You Gonna Go My Way” alongside Travis Barker and Lenny Kravitz.

Not even Kravitz’s sky-high sparkly boots could detract from H.E.R.’s shining stage presence. She’s cool, calm and just so dang enthralling.

Come out. Catch the magic of H.E.R. rsthand.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets start at $59.50. More info: bradymusiccenter. com. (Deirdre Kaye)

H.E.R.

PHOTO: TIM SACCENTI

North By North with Fruit LoOops and Dearest

Friday, April 29 • MOTR Pub

By their own count, Chicago Garage Rock duo North By North has been booked for nearly 800 shows since 2016, performing almost nightly on their marathon tours. e band’s third album Get Weird — released in 2020 — o ers a more eshed-out glimpse of their raucous live sound.

Sharing Bluesy, nostalgic inclinations with e White Stripes and ee Oh Sees, the record is laden with sinister chord progressions and wriggling organ tones, providing an appropriately spooky backdrop for their reverbsoaked vocals.

During live performances, their approach is stripped back to guitar and drums, putting added emphasis on vocalist and guitarist Nate Girard’s theatrical delivery.

Unfettered by the restraints of spelling, capitalization and music theory, Cincinnati quintet Fruit LoOops molds a similar raw energy in their own twisted image. Led by frontperson Jackie Switzer, the band’s anarchic spirit recalls the collision of Post-Punk and New Wave in the late ’70s, when acts like X-Ray Spex and Suburban Lawns imbued the underground with skronky snark.

Fresh o of a tour with Kenyan metal duo Duma, they’ve returned to their home city with a signature blend of live music and Dadaist performance art.

Five-piece band Dearest, also based in Cincinnati, is the youngest and most melodically-minded act on this bill. ough they’ve yet to release a full album, the three singles the band dropped over the course of 2021 showcase Dearest’s a nity for vocal harmonies and memorable ri s. “Honey” is the best of the bunch: a breezy Pop tune with an instrumental refrain that harkens back to late ’00s Indie anthems — there’s no shortage of chiming guitars and woah-oh-ohs. 10 p.m. show. Free admission. More info: motrpub.com. (Jude Noel)

LeAnn Rimes

PHOTO: PARADIGMAGENCY.COM

RECENTLY ANNOUNCED CONCERTS

Chris Rock

June 9 and June 10, Taft Theatre

Dead & Company

June 22, Riverbend Music Center

LeAnn Rimes

July 8, Hard Rock Casino

Less Than Jake, Bowling for Soup and The Aquabats!

July 9, PromoWest Pavilion at OVATION

The Psychedelic Furs

July 20, Andrew J Brady Music Center

Collective Soul and Switchfoot

July 26, PromoWest Pavilion at OVATION

Outlaw Music Festival (Willie Nelson, ZZ Top, Gov’t Mule and Larkin Poe)

July 30, Riverbend Music Center

Greta Van Fleet Buddy Guy and John Hiatt

July 30, Taft Theatre

Dashboard Confessional and Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness

Aug. 6, Andrew J Brady Music Center

Lany

Aug. 13, Andrew J Brady Music Center

Lauv

Aug. 21, Andrew J Brady Music Center

Pitbull

Aug. 23, Riverbend Music Center

Interpol and Spoon

Sept. 1, Andrew J Brady Music Center

Lee Brice

Sept. 16, PNC Pavilion

Sabaton

Oct. 8, Andrew J Brady Music Center

Joe Satriani

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