Malaga’s Sorry Kini dropped a banger of a record on us last Friday with their new album Intervalos, but we didn’t have much time to talk about it. Between the megalithic new black midi and the mysterious new Ginji, we had a lot on the calendar. And a lot coming up. But the last thing we’d want you to do is sleep on this majestic beast of an album.
The band’s general recipe focuses on the post-y crunch of bands like Maserati and Totorro while folding in a tasteful amount of Delta Sleep-esque vocal lines. The results are predictably sweet, but occasionally, they border on the profound. There’s an immediately likable and familiar sound that Sorry Kini perpetuates, borrowing much of it’s energy from more of an indie or post-punk reserve than anything specifically post-rock. You’ll still hear a good amount of floaty ambience here and there, especially when it comes to the dreamy vocal mix. Before we forget though, have you seen the band’s mascot? Adorable.
Check out the surreal video for “Fragatas” below. It’s one of the albums more mellow cuts, but it shows off one of the band’s most effective dynamics, balancing soft vocals with blooming, boisterous drums and guitars. We especially love when the subtle wah licks kick in. Wah-wah simply doesn’t get enough love when it comes to math rock.
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For all of the resounding emotions you’ll find here, there’s hardly a melancholic moment on the album, and it’s ‘nice to feel nice,’ as they say. Intervalos‘ sunny disposition is a welcome change of pace, with songs like “Postureo,” “Não,” and “Kobudai” cracking on like And So I Watch You From Afar‘s most youthful, optimistic moments. Even when the guitars are soaked in distorted waves of sudsy chorus, you don’t get a sense that it’s an angry tone. More of an epic, all-encompassing tone. Okay, there might be one kind of larger-than-life sad moment in the beginning of “Una Casa, un Edificio,” but it’s looming gloominess is quickly met with playful, sudsy refrains.
Honestly, we let out a sigh of relief once the album was over – but not because it was over. It takes a load off our mind to know that bands like Sorry Kini are continuing to breathe genuine, fresh energy into the progressive post-rock and math rock scenes… or whatever it is you’d call bands like sleepmakeswaves, maybeshewill, and Caspian. As exemplified by those bands and their peers, a record doesn’t always have to be wholly original to do that – it just has to be sincere. There are hundreds of reasons to love an album or a piece of music, but one of the most important ones is being genuine. Sorry Kini’s latest record wears a number of influences on it’s sleeves (sleeve?), but at no point do you feel like you’re listening to an imitation. Whether you’re looking for something shamelessly fun or something grounded and heartfelt, Intervalos delivers in spades.
We’re still wondering if our impression of the band would be different if their mascot was, say… a capybara or something. Or maybe an armadillo. We’re pretty sure it’s a guinea pig though, and a cute one at that. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – math rock sure has a lot of animals in it. But we’re certainly not complaining. Hell, we’re probably partially responsible for it at this point. And guess what? You’re welcome. Coming up we’ve got stuff from standards, Paranoid Void, Ando San, and more. Check out Sorry Kini’s Bandcamp here and be sure to fire us off a round of lean, mean, espresso machine here if you dare. No biggie though, we’ve got blood pressure to think about. Thanks for reading!