The Corner Laughers have become one of my favorite groups over the past decade. It's surprising because I'm not to fond of folk music, and they have folksiness in spades. Rather than folksy though I've always heard a sort of twee, poppishness to their songs. Vocalist Karla Kane has always ridden atop the
Laughers music effortlessly, an integral part of the whole. When I realized the latest release was a solo project I wondered how that would sound. And now I know. It sounds great. Again surprising to me is my enjoyment of what can only be called a folk album. Kane's voice is strong and striking as always, reminding a little bit of
She & Him's Zoey Daschenal not because they sound so similar but because they have this sort of ethereal quality that belies an elegant and underlying strength. They both share a softness around the edges that works especially well here for Kane when coupled with the thought provoking lyrics on songs like All Aboard, the feminist folk of Don't Hush Darling, and the album's title track King's Daughters Home For Incurables. Another striking song is Lilac Line, with Kane's customary ukulele twanging along, it boasts a catchy chorus and builds to what amounts to a crescendo for an otherwise subtly understated album. And it reminded me just a bit of the Beautiful South, which is a good thing in my book. Overall this is a strong and enjoyable solo debut, and maybe will inspire me to expand my listening boundaries even a bit further. I'm not going to stop hoping for another right proper album from the Laughers as a whole though!
Karla Kane's
King's Daughters Home For Incurables will be released October 6th and you can
order it here.
