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Reviews

Oki Hikoki — Krinkle
(CDFreedom no#, 2006, CD)

by K. Leimer, Published 2008-01-01

Krinkle Cover art

From some Wright honorable Meddle-era keyboard plonks to pretty much anyone’s arpeggiated Telecaster (here noted to be a “Rikencaster”), Brian Packham has been listening to many, many records, spanning many, many years. No surprise that the somewhat retro sound of Krinkle’s cuts serve as a fine example of the adolescent impulse at work and play in the studio – wanna-being in the best possible sense. There’re yelled lyrics, sung lyrics, spoken word; abrupt halts and distended tails; reflective calm and deep trouble. And despite the catalog of effects on display, Krinkle exhibits only surface comprehension of the stuff from which it wishes to be made. These are sad and angry songs that jangle and twang in harmonically narrow strands until suddenly bursting into what might someday reach for profundity or humor but too often settles for solipsistic whininess. And when things begin to drag – four of the pieces are north of ten minutes – the uniform solution is to bring on the Dramatiques: spliced-in sounding dynamic and tempo changes that exist pretty much to startle, their main function being to change the subject rather than to develop or deepen a thematic component. As such, the music is given over to stylistic pastiche in favor of the more difficult synthesis of the extensive exposure and awareness that’s so clearly latent in this post-rock, neo-rock, pre-something crossfade.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 35, 2006 releases

Related artist(s): Oki Hikoki

 

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