Much like the title of Kabaal Klankbaan’s latest album suggests, Ek’s Steeds Onstabiel brings with it the erratic ups and downs of a mental breakdown – all with the harrowing honesty and vulnerability of one at their wit’s end.
At its most frantic and energised the album seethes with a Talking Heads-esque anxiety that creates a feeling that the sky may or may not be falling and there’s nothing that can be done about it either way, most notably in songs like “Stilswye” – that wants to but also doesn’t want to fit in – and “Die Dinge in my Kop”.
At its heaviest points it acts as a sucker-punch to the heart. “Agony”, for instance, dons a closing-hours blues mask and dives into honest self-examination with husky vocals more interested in emotion than melody. Then there’s the organ-heavy cover of The Black Keys’ “Little Black Submarines” that deliriously swirls through a range of melancholic subtleties.
It would be remiss of me not to mention “Addicted To Bass”, a disco-loving track that adds a needed dash of tongue-in-cheek – without breaking Ek’s Steeds Onstabiel’s aesthetic – to an album filled with heavy ideas and revelations.
Feature pic supplied by artist
