His father is a concert pianist and conductor and Gabriel Kahane takes as many of his cues from the worlds of hipster jazz and contemporary classics as he does from hard rock to create his individual take on chamber pop music.
If this makes you think of Sufjan Stevens or Rufus Wainwright then you're in the right ball park. Not only does he have much in common with those two artists, he has also collaborated with them on past projects.
The Ambassador is a considered portrait of Kahane's birthplace, Los Angeles, as seen from the perspective of ten street addresses, one for each song. He says: "I’ve always had a preoccupation with buildings, and the relationships we form with them. In the title track, for instance, his point of view is that of a doorman at a now-demolished Ambassador Hotel.
The thematically linked pieces are wordy and literate to the point that the material seems to have been conceived as a theatrical song cycle. It therefore comes as no great surprise to learn that it has already been turned into a stage work.
The subject matter touches on eclectic topics ranging from Bruce Willis’ hair to Raymond Chandler's detective fiction, from modernist architecture to race riots. The latter is referenced on Empire Liquor Mart (9127 S. Figueroa St.) , the album's nine minute centrepiece which sees events through the eyes of Latasha Harlins, a fifteen-year-old African-American girl who was shot dead in 1991, one year before the LA Riots
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The silkiness of Kahane's voice and richness of the melodies make this a classy record that will garner plaudits but for me some essential spark is missing.
The singer remains so artfully poised that he seems about to say something more profound but never quite does so. As a result, I find the album a studiously aloof affair; the sonic equivalent of a lavishly illustrated coffee table book in an elegantly furnished apartment.
Gabriel Kahane on Tumblr
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