Time Out Chicago,
Album Review
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Classically trained guitarist-composer Barmey Ung formed Kmang Kmang in 2011 as a vehicle for fusing classical guitar traditions, and a touch of flamenco, with his Cambodian heritage. As the local quartet’s debut album title suggests, Kmang Kmang is hard to pin down. Ung has dubbed his ensemble an “avant world rock group.”
For Ung and his crew, that simply means everything goes. Drifting is musically itinerant, constantly shifting shapes among classical, Latin, jazz-fusion, indie and Cambodian. The press release calls attention to post-rock influences, but there’s more of a prog-rock vibe, with knotty tracks like “Lullaby” winding in similar ways to the guitar and violin sprawls of King Crimson.
Ung takes a shot at singing on a couple of the more structured songs, but the instrumental tracks benefit from greater freedom. “Glass” and “The World Is My Playground” showcase Ung’s masterful guitar plucking, interwoven with the four-string acrobatics of violinist Brandi Berry. Also a member of Baroque Band and cofounder of the Bach and Beethoven Ensemble, Berry brings indispensable skill, anchoring Ung’s compositions with self-assured vigor.
Genre hopping and risk taking are simultaneously Ung’s strengths and weaknesses. There’s too much going on, and the result is high on adventure but low on coherence. Drifting is a mixed bag, but dig in and you’ll find some gems.
04/26/12
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