Album Details

• Artist: The Reign Of Kindo
• Album: Rhythm, Chord, & Melody
• Label: One Eleven
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: symphony on 2008-09-21

Jazz is almost a misnomer, because if I say this, you probably think "Oh hey, saxophone." So describing The Reign of Kindo as jazz is misleading, so I apologize. But where do you put it? If there was a genre called gorgeous, I'd probably place it there. Take parts of This Day And Age and add a new face and you've just done the foolproof formula for amazing music. 

 How does one explain Rhythm, Chrod & Melody? As a debut album, the sound that is emitted sounds like that of veteran musicians who are about 40 and have been playing their instruments since they were one, like little prodigal bastards. The album opens with "The Moments in Between," lead into by a canoodling like no other by Kelly Sciandra and then comes Joseph Secchiaroli with the vocals and it's a mesh. His voice blends in so perfectly with the every key that Sciandra presses and it is quite possibly the most amazing moment on the album. Then comes the chorus and "Oh my goooood" and it is piercing and it is deep and you are stunned.

Next comes "Breathe Again," a tale of man who wakes with his children on Christmas morning to find someone stole the children's presents and ran off, so the man chases him and kills him, returning the presents to the children. It's a heartwarming yet terrifying tale that is beautifully composed but would never end up in the Chick Noodle Soup for the Christmas Soul book. It's another spot-on delivery from Secchiarolli.

The album carries on gracefully, "Let It Go" is another foolproof track bespeckled with classy guitar riffs that people who drink Starbucks coffee would nod and say something very Advanced. I'm almost examining this album as if these are upper class citizens and their music is thereby pompous, but it really isn't. It's just so different in this scene and it's so elegant and pretty. "'Til We Make Our Ascent" is another tune that just is another beauty. Secchiarolli is demanding I "stay in the moment" and his voice is simply enticing and I want to never stop listening to the song/his voice.

The climatic moment of the album is "I Hear That Music Play." It bleeds in from the intro in a very calculated way, almost like a protest and it comes off as a systematic anthem. It definitely sounds like Secchiarolli has something to tell us as he says "It feels like I've just found my way//in my darkest hour, I hear that music play."

"Morning Cloud" is another standout, a very upbeat toe-tapper. Ultimately, when listening to this album, there are no skippers, it's a wonderful blend of tracks and it ultimately is probably the most beautiful album I've heard this year. The quintet have done an amazing job following up a gorgeous EP and simply built on it with some of the most original music released this year. This ends my reign of kudos (I've been working on this pun forever!).

User Reviews and Comments

on 2008-11-12 Symphony Said:

Reason I say that is I had really high expectations for Razia's Shadow. And it was good. I still love this album to no end.
Not Rated

Review:

on 2008-11-12 dscanland Said:

Sometimes Symphony is onto something. Sometimes it's all hype. With Reign of Kindo I gave it an honest shot. I listened to the album a couple times and I couldn't help but think of mature pop (Dave Matthews etc). I'm older than Symphony so that should have appealed to me but there wasn't enough to grab me. I guess I'm a hook man. I need my melodic hooks. Now, I do respect the musicianship involved with Rhythm, Chord & Melody. These guys are obviously talented, just not for me. I'm sure many people can find things to latch onto with The Reign Of Kindo.
Rating: 6/10

on 2008-10-01 Symphony Said:

Album of the year, hands down, unless Razia's Shadow comes out before December 31st.
Not Rated