Description


Khruangbin has always been multilingual, weaving far-flung musical languages like East Asian surf-rock, Persian funk, and Jamaican dub into mellifluous harmony. But on its third album, it’s finally speaking out loud. Mordechai features vocals prominently on nearly every song, a first for the mostly instrumental band. It’s a shift that rewards the risk, reorienting Khruangbin’s transportive sound toward a new sense of emotional directness, without losing the spirit of nomadic wandering that’s always defined it. And it all started with them coming home.

By the summer of 2019, the Houston group—bassist Laura Lee Ochoa, guitarist Mark Speer, drummer DJ Johnson—had been on tour for nearly three-and-ahalf years, playing to audiences across North and South America, Europe, and southeast Asia behind its acclaimed albums The Universe Smiles Upon You and Con Todo El Mundo. They returned to their farmhouse studio in Burton, Texas, ready to begin work on their third album. But they were also determined to slow down, to take their time and luxuriate in building something together.

Musically, the band’s ever-restless ear saw it pulling reference points from Pakistan, Korea, and West Africa, incorporating strains of Indian chanting boxes and Congolese syncopated guitar. But more than anything, the album became a celebration of Houston, the eclectic city that had nurtured them, and a cultural nexus where you can check out country and zydeco, trap rap, or avant-garde opera on any given night.

In those years away from home, Khruangbin’s members often felt like they were swimming underwater, unsure of where they were going, or why they were going there. But Mordechai leads them gently back to the surface, allowing them to take a breath, look around, and find itself again. It is a snapshot taken along a larger journey—a moment all the more beautiful for its impermanence. And it’s a memory to revisit again and again, speaking to us now more clearly than ever.

Delivery, packaging & returns


Our service is rated 'Excellent' on TrustPilot. See the reviews here.

Star Icon

Click & Collect from our stores and pay £0 on shipping.

Click & Collect Icon

Free domestic shipping on all orders for Rough Trade Club members (or for orders over £75)

Free Delivery Icon

Tracked Global shipping available on all orders.

Global Icon

In-stock items dispatched within 24-48 hours

Dispatched Icon

Carefully packaged in recycled packaging

Packaging Icon

For more information on Shipping and Orders click here.

Icon image for https://images.prismic.io/roughtrade/ZpaaOB5LeNNTxNVL_RT_site_Icons_Info.png?auto=format,compress

Terms of Sale & GSPR


For more information on our Terms of Sale and for more information of the suppliers of this (or any) product, click here.

Clear
Released03/07/2020Catalogue NumberDOC193LP-C3Learn more
Released26/06/2020Catalogue NumberDOC193CDLearn more
Black
Released26/06/2020Catalogue NumberDOC193LPLearn more