Kmang Kmang: Drifting

Kmang Kmang
Drifting
self-released
2011-11-15

Barmey Ung is a new name you need to know. He’s trained in classical guitar, but he has a wide-open musical heart that incorporates his own Cambodian heritage with flamenco and Brazilian influences as well as good old American post-rock jams. (He’s based in Chicago, so it kind of goes with the territory.) On Drifting, Ung’s compositions can indeed drift a little; fortunately, he’s put together a hell of a band to help him rein things in, with Brandi Berry on violin, Sam Filip on bass, and Jeff Fortin on drums. Sometimes they soar, sometimes they whisper, sometimes they even scream a little. The two songs featuring Umg’s vocals are less powerful, probably, simply because he’s not a very good singer. But Kmang Kmang doesn’t really need a vocalist to put across its sound, which is aptly summed up in the title of the last song here: “Simpliminal.”

RATING 6 / 10