Kairos
Album | White Hinterland
Former piano-pop songstress takes the electronic route.
In the song “No Logic," Casey Dienel sings, “I can’t sit still / I can’t stay in one place too long,” a line that perfectly represents the unlikely path from her first album to her third. After two jazzy and near-perfect piano-pop releases (one under her own name and the other under the White Hinterland moniker), Kairos takes a more atmospheric route. It’s Dienel’s first set with a bona fide musical partner, Shawn Creeden, and together the duo offers a collection of ambient electronic songs laced with traces of R&B. Where Dienel’s piano was the foundation of her earlier albums, it’s barely even an afterthought here: the random plinks in album opener “Icarus” are the most prominent use of the instrument, and even then they’re only minimally used. However, Dienel's sultry croon and smart songwriting fit comfortably with the synth-based arrangements. It may be worlds away from her past work, but Dienel’s going forward with confidence.
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