Ins Kono is Evan Farkas. He’s a Raleigh, NC-based singer/songwriter who describes his eponymous release as “chamber pop” that sports “rich arrangements with a flair for the cinematic.” He’s enlisted strings (Camellia Hartman), flute (Jason Juliano), piano (Oliver Ignatius) and baritone sax (Lee Altsher-Wood) players to help him fill out the soundscape on this four-track EP.
The chamber-pop feel is present right from the beginning with string, horns and woodwinds prominent in the opening track “Coming Around.” It’s a poppy tune that repeats its descending four-bar progression all the way through. The shifting instrumental accompaniment almost saves it from being too repetitive; while the track is nicely produced, the ostinato nature of the composition had me hoping for a bridge, or at least a key change. “All My Friends” follows in a similar vein. For most of the song, it keeps the same bass rhythm with Farkas hammering eighth notes on the chord roots. That bass, mixed front and center, dominates the song, and at points distracts from the interesting string parts. With the choice to mix it so high, some melody and variation from the part would have been nice! In good news, “All My Friends” does have a second section, with its minor-chord feel and layered strings evoking the Moody Blues. Farkas starts pushing himself on the next two tracks, and finds better results. With “Edmond Dantes,” we get bass movement (yay!) in a very Beatles-esque piece, although once again the bass takes a domineering place in the mix. Around the bass, the track features nice vocal harmonies over the electric piano and chordal guitar comping. The outro piano solo, its classical approach reminiscent of “In My Life,” is a nice cap to a fine three minutes of pop. “Great Crusade” closes the EP. It’s cinematic and orchestrated with prominent string parts--it’s almost a poem set to music. The long, ethereal outro instrumental was my favorite stretch of music of the whole set. The rhythmic figure passes among the instruments with legato electric-guitar parts filling in the space nicely. The track culminates and fades out with interesting synth sounds, showing nice skill in both composition and soundscape. This finale leaves us thinking about a bright future for Farkas and Ins Kono.
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