Everybody sounds like somebody else

I discovered “Kaleo” through a blog on Kurrent Music written by one of my colleagues in which he compared them to The Black Keys and said they sounded too much like them. Well, because I love The Black Keys I went on and listened to Kaleo’s discography. What I discovered was that they did sound like The Black Keys on some songs but also sounded like The Cult on others, some were close to U2’s sound, and some were reminiscent of the Eagles, but what’s the point in tracing elements in someone’s music? Isn’t all music based on someone else’s? And let’s not forget that The Black Keys themselves were accused by Jack White of a rip-off of his sound, something that didn’t echo well for White’s reputation. I think that the point of this postmodern trend in rock’n’roll and music, in general, is that everything is allowed. You can have an album with two blues, one country, and three power rock songs and still appeal to the audiences. The division of genres is fading away in this era of music and home production.

Kaleo are just the type of “hybrid” bands we see in the past 15 years - you can hear a bit of every period in modern music, but they still sound fresh and original in a way. The band comes from Iceland and consists of Jökull Júlíusson (vocals and guitar), Davíð Antonsson (percussion and vocals), Daníel Ægir Kristjánsson (bass guitar), and Rubin Pollock (guitar and vocals).

Kaleo has released two studio albums, Kaleo (2013) and A/B (2016), as well as an EP, Glasshouse (2013). They started working together in 2012 in their homeland but after gaining attention from the American audiences and after they signed with Atlantic Records, they collectively moved to Austin, Texas to gain from the rich local scene. I recommend you listen to their discography; it’s definitely worth the attention and I strongly believe that they are yet to release their best material.