4/5: Folk101 gets a sneak peak at Alacartoona’s forthcoming album, Live on the Air: KKFI Radio. It’s signature Alacartoona: a fun and sexy danse macabre.
"This is our one-and-a-half album," says Bachelor Calwood about Alacartoona's upcoming live record, Live on the Air: KKFI Radio. "We don't want people to think that this is our next CD."
Despite the nonchalance of Kansas City's modern cabaret darlings, the group's latest offering is a minimalist, rollicking good time. Due out later this summer, it is the perfect complement to a season of hot nights and hotter house parties.
Recorded for Kent Downing's "The Red Wheelbarrow" program in August 2005 (and with part of the proceeds going to this community radio station), the most striking features of this record are its intimacy and its high body count.
Musically, this record features a greater diversity of styles and instrumentation than the band's 2005 debut, Songs from the Show. For example, Calwood moves seamlessly from a single tambourine to bongos to a fuller drum kit as the songs switch from ballad to blues to waltz.
At the same time, Archibald Drexel's accordion takes center stage. In many ways, he emerges as the album's star (my apologies to Ms. Falls and Mr. Forge) as his bellows squeeze, whine, cough, and even ooze complex chord progressions.
But Alacartoona's singers are not to be outdone. Forge's booming voice on "A Drink or Two" and Falls' mournful "St. James Infirmary Blues" stand out even amongst an altogether stellar track list.
Lyrically, this album fleshes out of these characters' sordid lives by recounting some of their more nefarious adventures. On "Hiding the Body" and later on "The Apartment," we witness Falls and Forge taking turns cleaning up after their latest trysts that unfortunately ended in bloody murder. The melodies, however, are so catchy that the audience will happily aid and abet.
The only drawback of Live on the Air is the occasional slip in sound quality that inevitably accompanies these type of soundstage recordings. A handful of instances exist where the balance between lead and backing vocals could use additional mastering. Nevertheless, Alacartoona's performance is inspired and engaging, easily transcending these minor technical glitches.
Live on the Air, with its line-up of crowd favorites like "The Walk" and the band's signature closer, "(Today, My Dear) I'm Yours," definitely offers some respite for Alacartoona fans and all their insatiable cravings. But, as with all great music, such momentary satisfaction will quickly morph to a ravenous desire for more.
Check with Alacartoona for a firm release date for Live on the Air: KKFI Radio.
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