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Karney

Love and Respect

Review by Gary Hill

This is a good album that covers music ranging from psychedelic to acoustic rock, straight forward pop rock and even progressive music. Jefferson Airplane is sometimes a very valid reference point. All in all, this is entertaining and fun.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2012  Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
Love & Respect

The main song structure here is acoustic based rock. There are some vocal hooks and a horn section adds nicely to the mix. There are parts here that feel very 1970s rock like. It’s a cool tune that does a great job of opening the set in style.

A Beautiful Day

There’s a lot more of an energized melodic rock element to this, but I also make out some theatrical vibes here. The vocal performance here gets pretty powerful at times.

Hold On

There aren’t any big changes here, but this is just more melodic mainstream rock that’s pretty tasty.

Across The Planet

The mellower melodic stylings that show up here and there on this cut are quite cool. It’s a tune that manages to continue the basic motifs while creating an original sound at the same time. Parts of this, particularly the mellow, picked guitar movement, seem proggy. There’s a great jazzy section that comes into play later, too.

Wild Green

A dramatic musical element opens this. It feels kind of psychedelic. We get Karney’s vocals soaring over as a male voice speaks at the base. They fire it out from there into something that’s quite similar to something from Jefferson Airplane as they continue. This really does feel a lot like a modern version of the Airplane sound.

Not Lost

This is the most purely acoustic track to this point. It’s basically a folk rock number that’s reasonably strong, but not a standout.

Eternity

There’s a lot of heavier blues rock on this tune, particularly brought on by the slide guitar. That said, it has a lot of psychedelia built into it, too and is another that calls to mind Jefferson Airplane, especially when the arrangement gets more filled out later. Some of the vocals later make me think of some of the bluesier old school Heart. There is an almost metal edge to this tune.

Snake Oil Salesman

While the music that starts this has a heavy crunch to it, it’s more like progressive rock and psychedelia. There’s a rubbery kind of riff that’s not that far removed from something by King Crimson mixed with Hendrix. The overall arrangement is tastefully weird.

Aurora

As Latin percussion serves as the backdrop, the music and Karney’s vocals create a sound that’s along the lines of jazz. This is mellow and melodic, but has a lot of energy. It’s also a strong tune that’s among the best of the whole set. The vocal performance is one of the strongest and the music just gels so nicely. They take it through a number of great changes before eventually ending it.

On My Knees (remake)

Intricate acoustic guitar opens this up with some accompaniment. It reminds me, in terms of the early music of “Suite Madame Blue” by Styx or “Beyond the Realms of Death” by Judas Priest. That said, the cut works to a more energized section that’s completely removed from either of those tunes. It’s basically a powered up ballad with a lot of jazz and some prog along with folk music in the mix. They crunch it up later with some killer psychedelic meets prog jamming based along the main motif.

 
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