Khruangbin – Mordechai review

Khruangbin are several conjunctions of unlikely stars aligning: nominally from Texas, the trio make music that fuses disco, house, pop and funk along with a swirl of influences gathered from South America, Asia and the Middle East. Up until Mordechai – or to be specific, the widely acclaimed Texas Sun EP, released at the beginning of 2020 – this woozy alchemy was more about moods than taking specific form, but whilst the addition of vocals conceptually felt like a possible distraction, instead it’s just proved another cosmic spice thrown into their eclectic mix.

Typically, Texas Sun is nowhere to be heard, another parochial decision by a group of whom two of which (bassist Laura Lee Ochoa and guitarist Mark Speer) wear ridiculously showtime wigs on stage to partially mask their identities. Mordechai is likely to quosh any ideas of remaining anonymous however. Opener First Class is a mystical journey in louche Aquarian style, a past-meets-future vibe that also washes right through the luxuriously danceable Connaissais De Face and Dearest Alfred.

This is a record which lives very much in it’s own universe, place and time; specifically the title is owed to a new friend the band discovered whilst recovering in their Lone Star bolthole after years of touring. It’s also fun and cool without every resorting to pretense; standout tracks Pelota and One To Remember are perfect examples of why this story, no matter how strange it looks, is going to provide us with more grooves than we can ever handle.  Mordechai it seems, is magic.

You can read the full review here.