Kllo

Backwater

BY Ashley HampsonPublished Oct 17, 2017

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In the two years since their Well Worn EP, Kllo embarked on an extensive world tour and began writing on the road for what would become their first full-length. The Melbourne electro-pop duo (cousins Chloe Kaul and Simon Lam) later developed the tracks at Lam's home, and the result, Backwater, is a mature, thoughtful project that explores and attempts to reconcile the ideas of isolation and vulnerability with comfort and familiarity.
 
It's also, Kaul has admitted, the first release on which they were finally comfortable delving deeper into themselves to add heft to the music, and the first time they felt surefooted with their output. That personal ownership has transferred beautifully onto Backwater, as has their original genre-hopping musical prowess — UK garage mingles with R&B and a dash of 2-step here, the album's lead single "Virtue" exemplifying the progression Kllo have made. Kaul's smoldering voice runs with the arc of the track, stuttering vocals and layered percussion easing in and ramping up as a syncopated, throbbing beat pulses across the rest of the track.
 
Backwater is a mature, rich effort that's likely to see Kllo continue on their ascent.
(Ghostly International)

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