Not to take a swipe at the other contributors of this site, but I like to think I’m the black sheep of the black sheep of Renegade Radio. Many of my interests are of the “niche;” if Iceberg is going to hand me the aux cord after playing some Metallica, I’m likely going to say something like “I’m not fond, but maybe you’ll dig (insert obscure thrash/punk/hardcore/random loudness band)” and get super excited while he’s battling to yank the cord out of my phone.
My name is Jeremy, and I’m basically a hipster piece of crap. It’s nice to meet you.
Kali Ra is a band I’ve listened to for a few years now, and every album has dripped with influences ranging from industrial, post punk, punk, glam, pop, and whatever the hell else David Goad was jamming in to his ear holes at the time. The man is a sponge for art, incorporating a range of sounds, feelings, and shades of color across every track of every album, and the new single “Breathless” is further proof he’s not afraid to evolve and change, while still maintaining overall consistency in quality when stacked up with his previous work.
Carried by a beat reminiscent of a lost track from Nine Inch Nails’ “The Fragile,” David’s voice cuts through the static of a distorted guitar with an almost haunting sense of sexual intensity. As the song grows and swells, an almost bluesy Roosevelt Sykes-esque piano rattles with greater emphasis. Before you know it, it’s over, and like the phantom David is playing the part of so well, he vanishes with a wisp.
Here’s the thing; this track is just under four and a half minutes long. With most songs with this kind of run time, I often consider all the filler that could have been removed to make it a more concise and enjoyable experience. After listening to this track countless numbers of times, I can comfortably tell you that not a single note of this song felt unnecessary. If anything, if he were to remove anything from this recording as it stands, it would feel incomplete. That’s what sets David Goad and Kali Ra apart from so many bigger, more well known names; he knows how and does make valuable use of every precious second given to any song he writes.
I went in to this review wanting to offer ANYTHING that may be considered a potential caveat, but I have nothing. Some may say the song isn’t loud enough, but I would argue it doesn’t have to be. The intensity of the music more than makes up for the overall volume.
Pair this song with dimmed lights and a glass of wine.
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