(2021) John Morgan Kimock - Hikikomori  


Review:
Drummer  John Morgan Kimock, known for his work as drummer for Mike Gordon and son of legendary guitarist Steve Kimock, comes into his own with the release of his solo album Hikiomori. The 10-track studio effort, which delivers a tranquil listening experience centered around dreamy psychedelic soundscapes, features playing from an impressive lineup of guest musicians including his father Steve Kimock, Mike Gordon (Phish), Leslie Mendelson, Jason Reed, Jared Bell (Lymbyc Systym, Alex Luquet (Sailcloth Sounds), Brett Lanier (The Barr Brothers), Josh Weinstein (Kat Wright). Previously, under the band name KIMOCK, the drummer released the LP Satellite City in 2017, featuring bandmates like the elder Kimock as well as Mendelson. Hikikomori, on the other hand, sees the younger Kimock coming into his own, with him noting, “I’m so excited to have something out there that honestly represents my sound and at the same time pay homage to some of my heroes and bandmates who have inspired me along the way. It’s taken a long time to have it all feel right. I’m grateful to have had time to explore my own curiosities this year.”

***

…Except for a short snippet of spoken words, it features no vocals, but does include other musicians of note, most notably guitarist Steve Kimock (JMK’s father) on “Alyeska” and Phish bassist/composer/vocalist Mike Gordon on “Speed.” Yet this album—its title derived from a Japanese word loosely translated as ‘one who stays inside and focuses on a singular task for a long time’—refuses to turn predictable during the course of its ten tracks. Veteran Vermont musician Brett Lanier weaves his pedal steel throughout the waves of sound during the opening “Love Does.” helping in no small measure to instill humanity in the music that Kimock himself maintains elsewhere. True to its gestation and completion in isolation during the course of 2020, there’s a discernible beginning, middle and end to most tracks. Yet the drama that pervades them precludes any sense of sameness, as does the astute sequencing of the title track in the home stretch of the album. Unfortunately, there are only the slightest traces of Kimock’s readily recognizable playing on a drum kit, but there’s enough on “Procession” alone to erase the mechanical feel of other rhythm components. Tracks like the latter and “Postal” are equal parts soothing and accessible so that, while Hikikomori is an extension of other work by this artist’s work from 2017 through 2019, the album nevertheless stands on its own via the stellar air of  “Negative Space,” among other evocative interludes. — glidemagazine.com





Track Listing:
1.Love Does 03:28
2.Procession 03:40
3.Speed 03:49
4.Negative Space 02:05
5.Postal 03:00
6.Hikikomori 02:32
7.Old One 05:08
8.New One 02:31
9.Alyeska 02:59
10.Ma B 02:51


Media Report:
Genre: ambient, electronic, post-rock
Country: USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits