Kaki evolves further from her roots, too far for me
I can almost repeat my review of "... until we felt red," where I wrote "I was at a Kaki King concert last night. I wasn't expecting to like her new material as much as the old, but came away quite impressed." However, this latest concert was a few months back, and I'm still ambivalent about this new album. Kaki goes further in the direction she took with "... until we felt red." Since I like her first two albums best, anything different has to win me over. I like the songs on this album that most resemble her earlier work, but unfortunately the rest isn't that great. There aren't enough of the former to carry the album as a whole.

Clearer than Previous Album, Still Many Possibilities to Develop
The direction of Kaki King's 4th album, Dreaming of Revenge, is similar to her 3rd, Until We Felt Red--self-indulging ambient rock. But several elements have made the new work clearer. Each song is more clearly outlined, rather than blurred under the total album concept. King's vocal style, which has become more conventional, also helps making the sonority tighter. The contrast between King's guitar and string trio/quartet on three tracks adds tonal variety to the album. Still, several points to improve remain. For one detail, drums, played by King on several tracks, could be more powerful. For a bigger picture, the music could have featured King's guitar virtuoso more. While undoubtedly an excellent performer, as a recording artist, King still seems to have many possibilities to develop.

Kaki is King
I'm not a huge instrumental music fan. Yes, I appreciate fantastic musicians, but still I can rarely sit through an entire album of instrumental music (I need a chorus a bridge, etc.). That is precisely why I am so appreciative of this album. I've always known Kaki to be an incredible guitarist, but this album brings her up volumes in my book. Why she didn't sing all the time, I'll never know, because I LOVE her lyrics and her voice. I love this album, front to back... and have NO problem with the instrumental tracks...in fact I love them. Standout "singing" tracks are Life Being What It Is, Pull Me Out Alive and Saving Days in a Frozen Head. Standout instrumental tracks are Sad American, Montreal, Open Mouth and I Need a Girl Who Knows a Map... I just about named almost all of the tracks (and I can't say there is a bad apple in the bunch), which means you might as well buy the album. I can't say enough good about Miss Kaki King.

Superb
I wanted this Cd for a while now and was excited to go get but it wasn't available at any of my local retailers. So I ordered it from Amazon and was so glad I did. Most CD's I have to hear a few times before I can get into it, but with this one I was hooked after the first listen. I also don't like to listen to something over and over again because I get tired of things pretty easily but I played this CD on repeat at least 6 times the second day I had it. I love all the songs on the CD which is something that is very hard for me to do. I definitely recommend this CD to anyone who likes ambient or atmospheric guitar sounds. It is awesome to chill out to.

Best Yet
Kaki King continues to grow as an artist and this is her best one yet