Kail Maheswaran - wishtree

Kail Maheswaran

Wishtree
self-released; 2014

3.9 out of 5

By Eva Cantillo

Kail Maheswaran’s sound is most definitely one-of-a-kind. Perhaps inspired by the unique and quite colorful landscape of his home city Miami, Maheswaran’s music is wild, eclectic and it’s quite hard to put a finger on just one genre. It’s kind of funky jungle eastern-inspired melodies, that sweep you away to somewhere that you have no recollection of once you get back, but regardless, you knew it was wild.

Quite simply, the opening track on his album Wish Tree titled “Jungle Juice” starts off with some quirky vocal samples that me think of some weird and eclectic cartoon show from the ‘90s. This song is righteously filled with so much character, and has some loopy and interesting effects all the while. There is some reggae vibes laden in the background and at the same time it’s a bit bluesy and soulful.

One of the highlights "Saturn's Return" combines a surplus of percussion, clean guitars, organ into a rhythmically complex yet catchy song. It's not your typical 4/4 dance track but still got me in the mood to dance. "Impostor's Palace" is another impressive song in which you will not want to miss the beat boxing that seamlessly melds with the other instrumentation. 

“Shot Down” starts off with a high-frequency down-south guitar strumming repetitively. The percussion keeps a nice beat as well. This song is definably a mix of, like, six different genres. Later on in the song there is a really nice guitar break-down that just makes you want to dance, really fast.

Listening to Wish Tree is not for the faint of heart; the tracks are incredibly upbeat, at times it seems like they are playing in fast forward, and they are definitely multi-sensory. It is a superbly entertaining listen, great for filling the mind and even perhaps discovering inspiration. The album is of great production quality and a great album for the adventurous listener.

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