Kaki King, "Dreaming of Revenge"

Billboard

Kaki King plays her acoustic guitar like a drum set, literally tapping on it to create percussive sounds. But she also lays down foundational, virtuosic finger-picked or fret-slapped rhythmic patterns upon which she stacks everything from electric guitar and keyboard to bass, actual drums and, sometimes, vocals. One would expect a massive wall of sound, but King's arrangements are often airy and minimalist, evidenced best in the dusty, widescreen "Sad American" and the bouncy, urbane "Air and Kilometers." She uses pedal and lap steel to strong effect, sketching haunting portraits with "Montreal" and the climactic "2 O'Clock." While King's songs often hew closer to contemporary classical than pop, the patient listener will discern new colors in these lovely painted-desert landscapes with each listen.