Kaki King -- Everybody Loves You

7/10

About ten years ago, I was up late as per usual, watching a cadre of late night talk shows. The musical guest on my longtime favorite, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, was a young woman named Kaki King. She played this song.

Needless to say, her insane guitar skills blew me away (I also thought she was cute, but soon found out I was not her type). I soonafter picked up her debut album, Everybody Loves You (I bought a lot of albums in those days based merely on witnessing artists' performances on late night talk shows). To my pleasure, the insane technical prowess King displayed on Conan was not an auditory mirage. Her unique, blazing-speed finger-tapping technique is all over Everybody Loves You. However, technicality alone does not make music enjoyable for most. Thankfully, King's playing also exudes a ton of emotion, and Everybody Loves You is also full of deeper, more meditative pieces, like Night After Sidewalk.

Finally, to make a point of how enjoyable this album is: I own no other guitar-only instrumental album. This is it(I'm serious. And also, I really wanted to write another parenthetical).

2003 Velour
1. Kewpie Station 2:14
2. Steamed Juicy Little Bun 2:01
3. Carmine St. 3:15
4. Night After Sidewalk 3:33
5. Happy as a Dead Pig in the Sunshine 3:22
6. The Exhibition 3:09
7. Close Your Eyes & You'll Burst into Flames 3:19
8. Joi 4:36
9. Everybody Loves You 3:16
10. Fortuna 9:36