Published on May 18, 2015
Now I’m not much for instrumental albums or jam bands, and Virginia’s musical oddball Keller Williams has fit into both categories. But with this style of music, the instrumental capabilities of Keller and company are something that cannot be denied or overlooked. Even though most of his albums sometimes tread a similar musical path, Keller has always found a way to stick out from the rest of the pack.
On his twentieth(!) studio album, Keller has returned with a new batch of songs that, while decent, don’t really do much to distinguish themselves from his other records.
“Mantra” is a trippy kind of song with some great instrumentation, but not much else. But “The Drop” is probably the most musically adventurous track here, with mandolin, banjo, and sampling. It’s probably the standout of the record.
Several tracks on the album plod along with seemingly little direction and it makes the average listener hit the skip button several times. However, longtime, hardcore fans of this music are sure to love it. Anything supported by members of the Deadhead community must be good, right?
Songs like “Making It Rain” seem very dated by use of stylistic phrasings, and the track “She Rolls” falls into the same trap. Hearing songs like this might take you back to the heady days of 2002. “Jesus’ Gun” is an average track with an overabundance of whistling and odd noise, reminding me a bit of mid-era Zappa. This song sounds like something from one of Keller’s most popular albums, Freek, which came out when I was in high school.
All in all, this is the type of album that would appeal the most to a certain type of listener and would not be the type to crossover into the Miley and Katy crowds. But Keller’s been able to make a career last this long and only seems to be getting more popular, so Godspeed to him.