Kat can do
- Kat Jones - La Rosa, La Calavera
- An atrocious opening track can't diminish the power of Kat Jones' first full-length LP.
When it comes to the quality of a record, never discount the importance of track placement. Sometimes just as essential as the material contained therein, a great opening song can really set the pace of an album and entice the listener to linger longer than they may have wished.
Which makes me wonder why Christian rocker Kat Jones chose to open her first full-length album La Rosa, La Calavera with “The Night is a Veil,” an annoying tune so grating I could barely make it through.
Anchored by just a piano-, organ- and keyboard-driven rhythm that gets under your skin like scabies and never seems to go away, “Veil” blends Transylvania gothic with 1800s Wild West saloon and a poor man’s Fiona Apple to rear one of the ugliest musical disasters since “The Macarena.”
No, really. It’s that hard to listen to. And if I had not been reviewing the album as a whole, I probably would have turned it off altogether. But once you get past this track, it becomes quite apparent that the nightmare that is “Veil” is nothing more than an aberration; the rest of this album is pretty good, an impressive collection of faintly understated God-rock goodness.
Unlike the comedian that must follow a fellow funnyman’s stage crash into the unkind clutches of a cold and ornery audience, “Those Expensive Eyes” actually benefits from its placement in the two-spot. Craving anything but another version of “Veil,” “Eyes” delivers in that it sounds more like a rock song and less like the score of a funhouse horror flick … so much so that it comes off being a much better track than it actually is. Depressing and droning, “Eyes” – though a breath of fresh air, thanks to the first track – is nothing if not forgettable.
It’s not until the third track, however, that we discover this band can craft a really great song. Accompanied by a perfectly hypnotic acoustic guitar and subtly sweet keys, lead singer Kat Jones bares her soul on “Sleeping Winter Fool” with vocals so powerful and poignant they can rival any mainstream diva’s. By the time “Fool” wraps up, you’re already excited for a second helping, a complete 180-degree turn from what had transpired just two songs prior when “Veil” could not end soon enough.
And that’s pretty much how the rest of La Rosa, La Calavera plays out, with each impressive track gently segueing into the next and displaying along the way the talents of a very capable singer/songwriter and her band. Drawing from various pools of influence including folk, indie and country, the album kicks into high gear by the third track and never looks back.
“Letters,” another wonderful example of Kat’s stellar vocals and an eclectic southern sensibility, is draped in generous portions of slide guitar reverb and unsuspecting banjo, while “One More Second Chance” – an ode to the power of forgiveness – combines all of the elements of great rock and roll for the album’s best track.
By closing out La Rosa, La Calavera with the beautifully enchanting melody of “The Case,” Kat Jones wraps up what should be a breakout record. For whatever the reasons – the religious overtones, the brevity of the LP (only 9 tracks), or for what I am loathe to believe is the album’s atrocious opening track – Kat Jones remains an independent act worthy of much more exposure.
With a little more work and perhaps some guidance from above, however, Kat Jones may be a name you get to know pretty well.
December 27th, 2005 at 9:14 am
kat has received a decent amount of critical acclaim, though i never vibed with this cd. the label, velvet blue music is one that i trust to put out some great music, however. i’d rcommend checking it out. jeff, the owner/founder/whatever is a really cool guy.
December 30th, 2005 at 2:32 am
Ha ha! Yes!
kat
December 31st, 2005 at 9:09 pm
thanks for reading this review and checking out our site. if you come through the philadelphia or new york area, we’d love to check you out live, feel free to email us, cheers!