My description of the album may come off as remorse or depressing, but really the album is uplifting and filled with so many different interpretations. That’s the great thing about rock is that you can have an upbeat rhythm which keeps the mood light and fun, but the lyrics are what pull you back.
The bold complexity of hidden metaphors piled one on top of the other is what drew me into loving this album. Every new listen to one of the songs creates a new understanding or brings up a new memory to coincide with the song. The new album has been out for over a year, but Kaleo is still touring around the world playing for crowds calling its name. The craving for a new album from its fans is rabid, but the wait will be well worth it.
Kaleo was formed in the small country of Iceland where its debut self-titled album “Kaleo” was created. Kaleo is derived from the Hawaiian language meaning “the sound.” Although the album did not create too much of an uproar, its second album A/B grew in popularity across North America and Europe.
Taking over big name festivals like Coachella and the Edmonton Folk Music Festival just to name a few, Kaleo played its heart out for millions of people with their rock swing sound, opening for bands such as The Lumineers and just recently the Rolling Stones on their world tour.
The album A/B was given attention by their hit song Way Down We Go which has spent 33 weeks on the Billboard Music Charts. The popularity for the song, besides its catchiness, was brought on by their music video which was filmed and recorded inside of a volcano in Iceland. This was the first attempt at an unusual location for filming. The second video for the album filmed in an odd location was for their song Save Yourself, which was recorded on top of an iceberg floating in the Pacific Ocean.
The album A/B can be described as two sided because there are two sides to every story. The A side consists of songs which reflect a darker, rockier and southern feel which provides the listener with smooth sounds of the bass guitar mixed with the twang of an electric guitar with a powerful raspy voice. The lyrics of the A side are filled with references of the devil and hard times that they have faced. Although the band likes people to interpret the songs to their own lives, you can’t help but notice a progressive change of feelings of the deep, dark and lonely A side to the feelings of acceptance, remorse and regret part of the B side.
The B side of the album is slower, more acoustic with a blue grass rock undertone to help settle in the mood of moving on and coming to terms with life’s plan. Song’s such as All the Pretty Girls and Save Yourself took over the second half of the album playing subtle sounds with in-depth lyrics on one’s tragic loss.
The creation of a band made from childhood friends is something pure and something not always seen. Better yet, it made them rise slowly through the channels of success to become new rock stars for a generation not used to the sound.