Review: The amalgamation of musical elements that is "What is Music" could best be described as a journey.

klark sound’s sophomore album, “What Is Music” beautifully poses the question through a journey of exploration rather than a pressing need for an answer. This approach results in a gentle challenge for the listener to expand their understanding of what music is. 

klark sound’s crystal-clear tonality accompanied by diverse instrumentation makes for a genreful and hearty collection of tunes. From track-to-track, each individual instrument serves as its own voice; not simply as background to the lead vocalist, but truly playing a notable role. It is an album that invokes feeling rather than being crafted for casual consumption. 

The record as a whole could best be described as an amalgamation of musical elements, fitting for an album titled to point the listener to the idea of music itself. The record opens aetherially and guitar-driven with “Fury” before allowing the saxophone to lead soulfully into “Dead Wrong” shortly after. The artist cleverly carves space within each track for the instrumentation to do much of the “talking,” but that’s not to say that the lyrics and lead vocals are not playing a significant role throughout. 

There’s a lyrical ambiguity to each track. In many ways, the record feels deeply personal, for example, opening with the lyric, “I am a servant to the soul inside me,” before pleading the case that “something has got to change…to be human again,” and then “to be foolish again,” speaking to a less personal and more universally existential idea. I love the way being human and being foolish are posed next to one another, alluding to the essence of play that is consistent throughout. The scene is set for self-discovery, for the artist and listener alike.

Throughout my initial listen-through during a solo drive out of town, I found myself getting lost in the exploratory nature; no track follows a predictable blueprint, lyrically or musically. I was transported to my first time at a jazz club in Nashville where I found myself in awe of the way the ensemble managed to get lost together; playing freely, yet still in sync. 

Perhaps because of the nature of being on a trip, I stumbled upon the metaphor that if commercial music today were a mode of transportation, it would be a direct Delta flight; accessible, fast, and easy. You know where you’re going, and you hope to get there as efficiently as possible. klark sound is the cross-country road trip to the commercial airline; no map, just following the signs. Stopping for a while in a town you’ve never visited, noting familiar sights and signs along the way, seeing places that remind you of home and others like no place you’ve ever seen before.

While much of today’s mainstream music sits fixed on the notion that “you did this to me,” and “I feel this for you,” Klark strikes a simple balance of “here I am and here’s where my piece fits into this puzzle.” It successfully captures both the element of surprise and the comfort of familiarity, with hints of classic rock paired with rhythms to keep the listener on their toes. It speaks to ideas both personal and vast. “How many choruses will I sing before you even notice me,” the artist asks in “Portraits of Feeling.” 

The record can best be described as a journey. “What is Music” led me to reflect on the nuance of art itself; the places where life and art intersect, the nature of play, and the excitement of curiosity. As a new klark sound fan, I found the work as a whole to offer much-needed relief from convention. It is an album for the curious, progressive, and eager-to-be-excited listener, begging the endless question, “what is music,” and perhaps even making peace with the fact that we may never fully know.