Klassics With A K
Kostars
Grand Royal,
1996
Reviewed by
Troy Carpenter
Rare is the case where a side band becomes more compelling than its members'
main gig, but the chill attitude and honest style of the Kostars puts Klassics With a
"K" in that category.
Vivian Trimble and Jill Cunniff of Luscious Jackson formed the Kostars after a few
off-the-cuff acoustic jam sessions between the two on a Luscious tour. Klassics was
released the following year, with three songs by each Kostar and four they wrote together.
The other two members of Luscious Jackson show up to play (as do Gene and Dean Ween), but
the Kostars definitely have their own sound, more organic and less busy. Jack Torso's
liner notes explain that the seed of the Kostars was planted on a "sultry evening in
Baton Rouge" when Trimble and Cunniff "made a beeline for the woods behind the
club with acoustic guitars in hand."
This summer-night scene sets the mood of the album well; one can almost feel the crickets
and the heat steaming off the Bayou in the slinky beat of "Jacqueline" or the
campfire waltz of "Never So Lonely". Equally as evocative is the rainy day
nostalgia of "Red Umbrella": Trimble and pal Niko Tavernise harmonize over a
sweet progression "Through the window, I hear / the rain, it reminds me of you / the
sounds of the drops / caress me as sweetly as you". The groovy, uptempo "Hey
Cowboy" is the closest Klassics comes to a "rocker", as the record
has a consistently relaxed feel throughout.
By simply making fun music that appeals to their mellow sensibilities, Trimble and Cunniff
created a pocket masterwork. Klassics is a classic itself, in the way it bottles up
a universal set of reflective moods for easy but not schmaltzy listening.
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"Klassics
With A K is a classic itself, in the way it bottles up a universal set of reflective
moods for easy but not schmaltzy listening. "
Troy Carpenter
- NATN Co-Director
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Related Links
Luscious Jackson
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