Six seasoned musicians come together for Hiding in the Light, a four-song EP collaboration that sounds like an all-star alliance of instrumental and lyrical experimentation. But don’t tell them that. The members of new project Kimono Kult are insistent that they’re not merely a team of leaders from other bands coming together to produce an album. Kimono Kult is different than other projects: for starters, it’s meant to be heard and not seen.
Spearheaded and produced by Nicole Turley, known for her work as CEO of Neurotic Yell and as the woman behind Swahili Blonde, Kimono Kult also includes lead singer Teri Gender Bender, known for Bosnian Rainbows and Mexican garage punk band Le Butcherettes. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of Mars Volta and Bosnian Rainbows adds to the instrumentals on strings and Laena Geronimo of Raw Geronimo helps him with the sound. The group is rounded out with Dante White and John Frusciante on guitars, known for Starlite Desperation and Red Hot Chili Peppers, respectively.
“Todo Menos El Dolor” is an intense, hearty electronic track mixed with flashes of a drum machine backbeat that’s more “Blurred Lines” than garage punk. But the vocals have an urgency to them that reminds us we’re still listening to Teri Gender Bender. The song’s title translates to “Everything, Anything But the Pain,” which is appropriate for a track that has a high-energy sound but whose vocals also have a purposely strained, mournful tone. It doesn’t matter one bit that the song is completely in Spanish; the message is clear. Hiding In the Light is just four songs long and the first single has a diversity in style that can only come from the blend of six musicians that all have an acute and distinct tone. The album is expected on March 4 from Neurotic Yell Records and the release will show us how the other three tracks measure up to the dynamic first single.
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