K. S. RHOADS

The Wilderness

2013-01-21

K.S. Rhoads is a singer-writer-producer out of Nashville. He is also part of the collective, Ten Out of Tenn, which is a revolving group of Nashville's "less twangy" musicians. (Ten Out of Tenn also consists of Joy Williams, Butterfly Boucher, Kyle Andrews, and Andrew Belle, among others.), K.S. Rhoads' second release,The Wilderness, is an album full of social, political, and even religious commentary. It consists of Mr. Rhoads' occasionally reverb-tinged vocals, a plethora of musical instruments, lovely string sections, and occasional programming/looping, all backed by a vocal choir and topped off with fastidious production. That's just the first half of the disc. By track six ("Chains"), it takes a surprising turn as Mr. Rhoads raps, giving the release a more soulful tone. Another surprise occurs with track 8 ("Prelude"), which is an absolutely lovely orchestral instrumental. Then, it's back to rap with the very cool "Hiyayayaya". That said, The Wilderness is all over the place genre-wise, yet it often returns to it's indie-folk vibe. This works, though, due to its consistent production, lyrics, and instrumentation. This release kept me interested from start to finish. Rebecca Ruth

Quick Links:

• K. S. Rhoads Website