Abbot Kinnet PV!

Here's the new PV for Abbot Knney!

ABBOT KINNEY: A Quick overview

ABBOT KINNEY is the name of the new Love Psychedelico album, their first in 3 years. In the interim between the the last album and this new one, they've toured Asia successfully and spent a summer in LA promoting a United States CD of their best work. In short, this album has been a long time coming so... how is it? It's a great Love Psychedelico album.

Kicking off the album with the Title track, ABBOT KINNEY begins on a light, sunny note. There's bubbly guitar runs and vague Reggae organ keeping beat. The second track, BEAUTIFUL DAYS, introduces a full on Country sound with a mandolin leading an acoustic instrumentation. HERE I AM, SECRET CRUSH and SHADOW BEHIND all contribute to a late 1960's / early 1970's Rock sound. These tracks are the ones that most recall the first two albums sound. The brief I'M DONE takes the riff of their earlier WASTING and relates a dark story of a break up that features Kumi's best vocals on the album.

The next song, HIT THE ROAD, recalls BROWN EYED JOE in vocal and sound. BRING DOWN THE ORION may be my favorite track on the album, lightly recalling FANTASTIC WORLD in it's chord progressions. HAPPY BIRTHDAY is a curious track. The song is just as the title suggests: it's a mid tempo birthday wish. THIS WAY, which has been promoted with a video on their YouTube Channel, is a driving track that best exemplifies the LP sound these days.

DR. HUMPTY BROWNSTONE is one of those patented sing / rap songs that KUMI's been shouting since the first album. The final track is a cover of CCR's HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN? retooled in a way only Love Psychedelico can do it.

All in all, this is an enormously satisfying album, but I'm thinking that might be due to their three year absence from the scene. Had it been released only 2 years prior, it might have sounded more pedestrian to these ears. That's neither here nor there, though, since it is what it is and what it is, is good. The production is solid as is the song selection. Kumi and Naoki seem to have drifted over to making solid, concise pop songs and have left a lot of the jamming behind. It's both a good and bad thing. The songs on this album are tight, but I'd have liked to have heard more of Naoki's guitar shredding.

I only have one minor criticism and it's very minor. Kumi's vocals just aren't as dynamic as they used to be. One of the reasons I love Love Psychedelico so much is the versatility of Kumi's vocals. She has this captivating ability to go from a loud commanding shout to a soft kittenish purr when the lyric calls for it. This ability is all but absent on this new album. Kumi seems to want to constantly belt out the lyrics and the songs don't always call out for that reading. Make no mistake, I love this new album, but I miss Kumi's softer side.

So, should you buy it? If you're a Love Psychedelico fan, yes indee-dee. You can buy it at CDjapan by clicking on the Album Cover above or below: