Christopher Hill & The Stardust Crush - KAABA (Keeping America All Better Again)
CHRISTOPER HILL RELEASES ‘KAABA (KEEP AMERICA ALL BETTER AGAIN)’
Seattle-based avant-garde artist Christopher Hill & The Stardust Crush release a new concept album, KAABA (KEEP AMERICA ALL BETTER AGAIN) today, December 18.
Christopher Hill
Explaining the album, Christopher shares, “‘KAABA (Keep America All Better Again)’ is a dystopian story about nuclear war and what would happen if we let democracy fall into the wrong hands. Timely songs like ‘Coronavirus Prison Blues’ and ‘Say Their Names’ address the challenges we've faced in 2020 but the overall message is one of hope. The music comes in an oddball style that would make Daniel Johnston proud. Also, it showcases psychedelic influences similar to Pink Floyd's ‘The Wall.’”
He goes on to add, "The album is a call for everyone who cares to work together as a team to hold the world together in difficult times. There is also a theme of death and rebirth all through the songs. In some cases, it's literal and in some cases it's figurative... like the life and death of a friendship. The other theme is compassion. The last song ‘Say Their Names’ is a call, especially to white people to do their part to support Black Lives Matter."
Self-described as “death-folk-rock” and “post-psychedelia,” KAABA blends conventional rock music with found object sounds, like banging on the inside of a dishwasher on “The Coronavirus Blues,” as well as the noise of WWII fighter planes, the sizzling hum of UFOs, and bombs and breaking glass. Major and minor keys slide into tritones and then return, while layered vocals merge into choir-like textures.
Christopher Hill began releasing music in 2014, dropping Grace, followed by three other records: 2016’s Heart For A Glove, 2017’s Bare Bones, and two years later, MAABA. The last three albums were released under the name of Christopher Hill & The Stardust Crush.
“The Coronavirus Prison Blues” conjures up reminiscences of Johnny Cash, blending Latin savors, country flavors, and hints of surf rock into an entrancing tune.
KAABA (Keeping America All Better Again) is the “punched in the jaw and pushed through the Looking Glass” follow-up to MAABA (Making America All Better Again). The thrust of KAABA is to arouse people, so they don’t rely on others, aka “higher powers,” to pull them out of the morass.
Whereas MAABA included work by other musicians and vocalists, all the instrumentation and singing on KAABA is provided by Christopher Hill.
Embracing nine-tracks, KAABA begins with “A Guided Tour of Lafayette Park,” which opens a cacophony of intertwining sounds, transitioning to “MAABA,” riding a contagious rhythm topped by gleaming tones, warping and distorting in alluring strata.
Highlights include “Squatters Rights” rolling out on tingling, jangling, chiming coloration, drifting on psychedelic layers. Christopher’s strident timbres infuse the lyrics with dreamy, lysergic essence. “The Coronavirus Prison Blues” conjures up reminiscences of Johnny Cash, blending Latin savors, country flavors, and hints of surf rock into an entrancing tune.
“Love Is Stronger Than Death” echoes tangs of Bob Dylan, traveling on a glittering guitar offering buoyancy to Christopher’s velvety folk-tinged vocals. The last track, “Say Their Names,” features a spine-chilling inventory of those lost to the guns of police officers.
Innovative and supercharged with avantgarde sonic surfaces, KAABA depicts the impressive creativity of Christopher Hill & The Stardust Crush.
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