Review Summary: The Reign of Kindo make an excellent EP that promises future classics from the 5 piece Jazz/Indie Band
When my friend told me about this band I brushed them off without thought. I was too busy listening to other amazing albums and music. Eventually, however, his constant raving intrigued me and I listened their self-titled EP. What an experience! When I was told they were an amazing jazz indie band my first thought was "I doubt it." But, I was proved wrong.
This 6 song EP starts off with the aptly named "Set the Stage, Cue the Music." It sets the stage perfectly, demonstrating a fantastic blend of piano and guitar set with quite impeccable lyrics. This song is a beautiful class A effort by a class A band, and the rest of the EP is in the same fashion. Amazing vocals pouring over groovy, jazzy beats with intertwining guitars and piano blend to create an amazing sound. "Needle and Thread" has a powerful sound with start -stop beats and arpeggiating chords on the piano, while Hard to Believe bases itself around a bass/piano riff in the intro, with drums filling in the back of a beautifully bluesy sound. Of course, once the guitars come in it's pure magic; the pianist dances on the keys in a beautiful fashion as the guitars hold down the song with staunch riffs, the bass all the while thumping along below them and the saxophone making a guest appearance. "Just Wait" is probably one of my favorite songs, beginning with a piano walk down over drums, and then jumping into the beautifully jaunty song; the band's tendencies to stop and start their beats is displayed throughout the EP, and especially on this track. The sound of the EP can be summed up in this, their best track; "Just Wait" is constantly one of my most played iTunes songs, most likely because I love the piano in the middle of the song.
For all the Flaming Lips fans out there, "Do You Realize" is a cover of one of their most famous songs off of "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots"; of course, The Reign of Kindo add their own flavor of spicy pianos along with more spacey guitars and soaring vocals. This cover is amazingly well-done, as is the rest of the EP. The last song, "One Man Parade" is a pretty standard track on the album, meaning that it is amazingly well performed and well-written in a jazz/blues fashion. The EP, altogether, meshes into a cohesive and easy listen. Parents will enjoy the album if you want to enjoy it together, your friends will love it, everyone you know will like at least one song on the album. This is one of the few albums me and my dad can listen to together in the car without one of us saying "God, this sucks."
Overall, The Reign of Kindo have set a standard that, if upheld, will promise amazing future works from the Buffalo natives. April is the proposed date for a full-length, and I, for one, could not be more excited. Let's hope that these boys keep up the hard work and really prove themselves to the world.
