Dead Oceans
The title makes it clear. “A La Sala” (âTo the Roomâ in Spanish), the fourth studio album by Khruangbin, is an exercise in returning in order to go further, and do so on your own terms. It extends the air of mystery and sanctity thatâs key to how bassist Laura Lee Ochoa, drummer Donald âDJâ Johnson, Jr. and guitarist Mark âMarkoâ Speer approach music.
Yet if 2020âs Mordechai, the last studio album Khruangbin made without collaborators, was a party record whose ensuing post-lockdown tour enhanced the bandâs musical reputation far and wide, “A La Sala” is the measured morning after. Itâs a gorgeously airy album made only in the company of the groupâs longtime engineer Steve Christensen, with minimal overdubs. It is a porthole onto the bounties powering Khruangbinâs vision, a reimagining and refueling for the long haul ahead. “A La Sala” scales Khruangbin down to scale up, a creative strategy with the future in mind.
Â




















