ALBUM REVIEW: Meanwhile – Klone
KLONE’s brand of atmospheric, brooding music has a consistently had a fluidity to it that’s been easy to fall in love with. Their output as also been massively consistent, with barely more than two to three years between releases over 15 years. KLONE’s latest record, Meanwhile, boasts the same attention to tone and emotional engagement as it does technical proficiency, resulting in some very strong work.
There’s no question as to why Within Reach is the flagship single for this record. The band’s shinnying guitars cut across the deep bass and bittersweet vocal harmonies as vocalist Yann Linger demonstrates his powerful range. With such a visceral vocal performance coupled with the pull of the reverberating guitars, it creates an intoxicating atmosphere. Once the more aggressive, sinister side of KLONE’s sound opens up, it’s a sublime start to Meanwhile.
The top of the record is very strong, and Blink Of An Eye is definitely a head turner for anyone looking for a more unusual progressive alt rock arrangement. It plays with unconventional tones and subtle movements that feel like they’re always on the verge of tipping into full progressive or jazz stylings, but always keeps things accessible.
There’s plenty of room for each track to breathe on Meanwhile, as KLONE have more than mastered the art of crafting rich and deep songs without ever overloading them. The album as a whole broods and rages in equal measure. Delving into the depths of their progressive or melodic structures could mean a tide of melodic guitars, like on the sombre Bystander and mellow Scarcity; or a tempest of irregular timings such as in the thoroughly satisfying final third of The Unknown, which is a delightfully cinematic experience.
There are, however, some more meanderings within a few tracks that drag the record a little. While Meanwhile as a collective set of tracks does create an atmosphere, some tracks don’t bite quite as hard or effectively as others. Elusive’s tone lightly shifts from hopeful to downtrodden, pulling your emotional compass up and down, but never really settling on one true north. Likewise, while a monumental, slogging track, Night And Day is on the more meandering, indulgent side.
Still, Apnea, while around the same length as the aforementioned, subtly plays with time signatures and pacing to keep things interesting, showing a confidence in KLONE’s ability to really control the moment when they knuckle down. Thankfully Disobedience does pull the latter half back into a more direct line, with a satisfying chug and tight, resolving drums snapping throughout. The downturn of the album’s final song and title track gently descends into a meaner and more tonally complex middle section while never quite letting things go where you’d expect. The ending is a spinetingling cacophony that itches at you to relisten.
Mournful and poignant, shinnying, trilling guitar, churning basslines and rich vocals keep KLONE’s Meanwhile in the more epic side of grandiose. While some tracks do haul themselves slightly into overrunning, overall this record boasts a confidence in KLONE’s ideas, from the anticipation created in the darker, more experimental areas, to the otherwise bright, rich tones.
Rating: 8/10
Meanwhile is set for release on February 10th via Kscope.
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