Kpax

The intensely varied compositions of Kalpana find a young band of four alternating vocal and instrumental roles in shifting combinations of guitars, keys, buttons, beats, and drums.

Some examples: Kalpana build an atmosphere to its ultimate detonation in “Amber,” spin a disturbing tale in the quiet, refined pop of “Frozen Machines,” bring rumbling rock in “Sic” and “We Have Illegal Weapons,” bounce the keyboard hook-laden “Save Me” through your head, allow you to drift along with “Don’t Move,” and tinge some unexpected but fully welcomed metallic fulminations through “34 Stories.”

Keyboards and guitars form either a solid groundwork or a heightened anarchic environment, depending on the song or even the moment. Melodic, beautifully repetitive basslines uproot as the complex drum pattern dreamily fades in and eventually builds to burst. Alternating vocal lines quietly calm or at times pull out into a cathartic guttural scream. Musical twists and reversals that are completely unexpected on first listen become the center of listeners’ attention on subsequent encounters, as they come to love anticipating the inevitable.

Though diverse, the album fits together conclusively into the solid yet manic puzzle of Kalpana, four talented men currently residing in the harsh wasteland of Rochester, New York.

Kalpana have been compared by the press to: Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, Sigur Ros, Television, Dianogah, Swords Project, The Attractions, and Don Caballero.