KALO - Wild Change (2017)

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Written by Pamela Bellmore, posted by blog admin

Bat-Or Kalo is the next big thing as a vocalist or should be at least. Her soulful pipes are the cherry on top of amazing guitar playing and set her apart from the vast bevy of singers in this style regardless of gender. KALO, her power trio filled out with Mike Alexander on drums and Mack McKinney on bass guitar, prove to be more than just a vehicle for her talents. The rhythm section tandem is comfortable essaying any style and has a lockstep chemistry that few tandems working today can boast. Kalo clearly derives a lot of inspiration from their work and they provide a dependable platform from which she can launch a number of different excursions on the six string. The eleven songs on KALO’s Wild Change don’t indulge much in extended instrumental passages; it is clear that Kalo and her band mates alike are much more concerned with writing solid songs that communicate with listeners.

“One Mississippi” lightly touches on familiar tropes from our every day speech and, while it is uniquely American, gains something unique from a Israeli vocalist tackling an idiom once utterly unfamiliar to her. The rhythm section provides able support without ever seeming too cluttered in an attempt to fill any holes in the music. Their fluidity will help rhythm guitar aficionados forget the absence of a second guitarist to help fill out the sound. “Upside Down” is the band’s convincing take on R&B traditions with a hard edge and some genuine rock and roll swagger. Kalo’s guitar work, for the most part, takes on a much more compositional flair here than it does on the blues songs and the horns included in the track give it an extra oomph it would have otherwise lacked. “Fix” is a rocking blues tune with a big chorus that Kalo throws herself into with great force and gravitas. The fact that she can bring such authority to bear on multiple styles is just another mark of her quality as a vocalist – there’s little she seems incapable of.

The title track is a rugged blues rock assault with a great tempo and an emphatic vocal from Kalo. Drummer Mike Alexander is one of the most distinguishing parts of the performance; his drumming has a decided swing that sounds utterly natural and it keeps the song moving throughout. “Free” may the only moment on Wild Change that aims for a distinctly rock vibe and they achieve it thanks, in no small part, to the massive production that makes this relatively straight forward rocker sound like a towering musical attack. “Bad Girl” returns the band to the blues, but it has a similar vibe. The enormous production job gives due consideration to each element of the band’s sound but highlights Kalo’s vocal in such a way that it never detracts from the instrumental performances. KALO’s Wild Change is more than enough evidence for why this power trio rate among the most respected blues/guitar based acts working the concert circuit today.