NK native Kraig Jordan forms lush arrangements with new album
There are certain musicians who don’t see any sort of limits or classifications when it comes to their creative output. This can come across in numerous ways where either the songs are highly experimental and genre-bending or the lyrical subject matter is abstract and wide-ranging. With an acoustic guitar-driven sound, North Kingstown’s Kraig Jordan has the latter going on via his current project known as The Glare. His latest album titled “Monday Morning Telephone Calls”, which is out tomorrow via the Warren based label 75orLess Records, has songs that are about panda bears, cults, the apocalypse and other topics. Jordan’s folk-rock style compliments these themes in unique fashion while embracing interesting pop arrangements and a genuine sonic delivery.
For the making of the fulllength, Jordan enlisted a few legendary figures in the local scene such as Guy Benoit, Mark Cutler and Scott Janovitz. This melding of talents forged a record that honors the songwriting craft with the music having a refined quality.
“I’m really excited about this record as it continues to crystallize my songwriting partnership with Guy [Benoit],” Jordan said about the album this week. “The same can be said for my musical collaboration with other musicians including Mark [Cutler] and Scott [Janovitz]. The cover art was done by Newport artist Sue McNally and the layout design was done by Dave Narcizo. This is a psychedelic and acoustic record that fuses pop and rock together. I’ve been playing the songs in their most raw acoustic form at various gigs, including the Belly show at Fort Adams [in Newport] at the beginning of October. The LPs I do as The Glare are more fleshed out versions of the songs I perform solo when I play live.”
That psychedelic vibe Jordan mentioned is very apparent and there’s a cinematic aesthetic that’s present as well. I wonder if he was watching the ‘90s television show Twin Peaks while coming up with the tracks for “Monday Morning Telephone Calls”, because a similar eeriness comes across, but in slight ways. “Stray Dog”, “Caveman Serial Killer” and
“I Want What You Want” exemplify this notion while others set themselves apart. For example, “I Can Hook You Up” has a noticeable Elliott Smith influence while “Did I Wake You?” is completely instrumental. A oneof-a-kind artistic spectrum is covered front to back and in turn there’s a listening experience being provided that’s a bit more cerebral than your typical full-length release.
On the same night as the album’s release, Jordan is going to be headlining an intimate evening at Red Ink, which is a nonprofit community library located on 130 Cypress Street in Providence. Cutler is going to be on the bill for it and Bill Cole is going to be performing as well with it all starting at 8 p.m. If you’re looking for a proper preview of the album, log on to The Glare’s Bandcamp page at theglare1. bandcamp. com. There you can hear the album done in Jordan’s vision before heading over to the show to see and hear him perform the songs solo while strumming his six-string. It’s one of those albums that you can’t put into a pure genre, but you’re going to enjoy it once you press play.