After being introduced to the world as an
instrumental guitar virtuoso and being fawned over by people who are into that
kind of stuff, Kaki King hooked up with John McEntire (Tortoise, The Sea And
Cake) and found her music suddenly embraced by the indie-rock set. And it
wasn't just because of the post-rock name suddenly attached to her: …Until
We Felt Red really
was a hipper album (though not in a painfully self-conscious way), and with
more prominent vocals, it was also more accessible. King has continued down that
path with Dreaming Of Revenge, and has come up with a similarly engaging record
that shows off her dexterity while letting the melodies get as dreamy and
beautiful as they like. The hip factor may be turned down just a smidge
(McEntire was replaced by Malcolm Burn), but the songs are just as strong,
whether they're hitting a rocked-up groove or getting the cinematic treatment
with strings. King's vocals (on four of the 11 tracks) are more of a
distraction than they were on Red, though they add just the right amount of spice
to make Revenge
enjoyable from beginning to end.