Music Review // Kee Avil "Spine" (Constellation Records) ***5/3***

https://keeavil.bandcamp.com/album/spine

This album begins with a song that has these guitar notes coming through which almost sound like they're tuning.  Percussion comes in like someone is patting something and then it can just drop off into this glitch electronic distortion.   At times the vocals sound like Gwen Stefani, but overall this is just such a fun sound because it just feels like a broken down electronic pop song.  

On "the iris dry" that same sort of electronics continues but it comes through in these expanding ways, like a frog croaking, and it just stretches to the point where you feel it might break.   The words come out almost pained and this is just such a song where it feels like Kee Avil is performing it while being torn apart, with one of those devices that pulls your arms in different directions.

Those guitar notes return on "remember me" and it gets to the point at times where it feels almost whispered.  There is a similarity within here to an artist such as PJ Harvey, Fiona Apple and Nine Inch Nails.   Kee Avil really seems to be making a sound here that would fit so perfectly in that 1996-1998 era of music.    We also have a song like "do this again", which was released as a single prior to the whole album, and that just feels like a pop single.

"Fading" has such minimal percussion and electronics with the vocals coming through in such a big way.  At times this feels like Lana Del Rabies or someone equally experimental.   "Gelatin" and "showed you" are both minimal and more mellow songs than how the earlier songs came out louder and with more of a violent feel.   This would also be the second side of the album, so in that way it just feels more chill.

Guitar strums return on "at his hands" and it feels a bit dreamy.   The tone changes on "under" as we go into a dark plea for help.   By the end we go through all the cycles- from that minimal electronic sound right into distortion and beats which create a much louder sound.  Overall this is just such one of the best albums not just of 2024 but of all time because Kee Avil has found this unique way of putting sounds together to create something both familiar and new.