VK are an americana, folk, roots duo with a unique style and sound based in Orillia, Ontario in Canada, you may be familiar with them if you are a regular visitor to Blues and Roots Radio, their song ' Terms and Conditions ' was a finalist in our International Song Contest 2018 and their album of the same name was one of twenty nominees in our Album Of The Year Awards 2018.
The follow up and brand new project is the spectacular album ' Charm '. Steve and Marni Van Kessel are joined by some musical friends on this recording, John Lebarr ( guitar/vocals ), Sean Murray ( keyboards/vocals ), Jamey Heidman ( bass/vocals ) and Roger Stanley ( percussion ), all of whom add to the arrangements, instrumentation and harmonies under the monicker Legends of THE DEEP.
What strikes me is the rich full sound that is to the fore on this release, excellent arrangements and extremely tight playing. They have gone for a more electric approach with clever fills on keyboards, electric guitars and some very adept harmonizing which at times switches to a classic rock vibe, all very cool indeed.
' What Tomorrow Will Bring ' is an excellent lead track released prior to the bands album launch at none other than the Mariposa Folk Festival just recently, you don't get any bigger platforms than that to launch an album, ' Hold On Now ' and ' Break Me ' are two more tracks that show off the bands great grooves and harmonies, ' Letting Go ' is a real foot tapper once again showcasing their ability to switch it up and change the tempos around, there is so much going on in this track behind the vocals that it's quite exquisite, fab keyboards and rhythm guitar bed the track down with a hint of banjo, if I am correct in picking that out, it's a superb track indeed.
One last thing to mention, forget all the bass player jokes, take a close listen to some amazing bass lines laid down by a top class player, I take my hat off to Jamey Heidman, quite brilliant and clever playing at times really adding another dimension to many of the tracks, now that's how it's done !
I had high expectations after the release of their last album ' Terms and Conditions ' and VK have not disappointed with ' Charm '. The songwriting, as I expected, is again first class, the musicianship has kicked it out of the park, VK continue to delight and prove on this album that they have a real depth to their sound and creativity, a fantastic ensemble performance. I have been utterly charmed by ' Charm '.
Visit VK's website https://www.112records.com/vk