Khruangbin - A La Sala

On Soleil Vinyl A LA SALA is Khruangbin's fourth studio album, following a slew of live releases, remixes, a Late Night Tales mix, and collaborations with Vieux Farka Touré and Leon Bridges. With this record, the Texas trio return to their essence, largely exploring simmering, low-key rhythms with minimal vocals. The group's musicianship is as tight as always, yet they specialize in making airy, spacious grooves that are enticing and comforting rather than hard-driving. While it was easier to point out the key influences in the band's sound on their earlier records, from Thai funk to Afro-pop to flamenco, by now it's just easier to identify the group's atmospheric guitars and steadily paced snare slaps as sounding like Khruangbin. Of course, music as pleasant and vibey as theirs has a tendency to fade into the background sometimes, and A LA SALA simply don't have the memorable hooks that made Mordechai the band's best and most exciting record, nor is it as inspired as their collaborati