The great thing about a term such as post-punk is that although, as the name implies, there is a definite starting point for the sound, style, period or whatever it actually refers to, there is no end point. Once punk is over, and by any decent metric you might choose, it certainly is, everything is potentially post-punk.
I mention this only to remind you that post-punk, despite its associations with the early eighties, is an ever-evolving sound, and Karyn Kuhl’s latest one, “No Traces,” finds her at the cutting edge of its current location in its musical evolution.
Produced by Charlie Nieland, always a mark that you are doing something a bit special, “No Traces” runs on a great riff and beat one-two combo, rock traditions bent to serve something more creative and underground. It growls and grooves through the verses but then breaks into something more, well, not quite ethereal; it’s too earthbound for that, but certainly more adventurous for the choruses.
Throughout, eclectic electronica flits by, musical motifs add tone and texture, digital washes create sonic backdrops, and the vocals seem to ebb and flow between a sort of world-weary reflection and voice-as-sound deliveries.
“The Tower,” which back in the day we would have referred to as a b-side, is a more spacious, drifting, haunted slice of ghost-country music. It is a wonderful contrast to the more robust sounds of the main feature and a beguiling song in its own right.
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