Keller Williams’ KWahtro
Sync
Reviewed by: Geno Thackara
Give him a lively backing band and Keller Williams will pull out some fun surprises. The jack-of-all-guitar-trades is taking his first jaunt with a new trio of good friends under the name KWahtro, a cooking-hot crew nimble enough to handle anything he tosses at them without blinking. With Sync, their take on his “acoustic dance music” makes for a rollicking batch of catchy tunes, folky, worldly and often a lot of laughs.
They kick off by packing jam-band groove and jazzy double-bass solo together with an ample dose of cowbell. From there Williams keeps restlessly shuffling genres like a teenager who can’t decide on an outfit. The disc is full of that effortless diversity that lets him play with everyone from the Travelin’ McCourys to the String Cheese Incident. With “Baby Mama” they go for a little smoothly upbeat pop; “Cheaper by the Bale” is closer to reggae-tinged Americana, while the spry “Watchoowantgurl” almost reaches Bernie Worrell levels of funk.
If there’s an occasional flaw, it’s the lyrics. The aimless ramble of “Missing Remote” ends up just as annoying as Williams claims (and admitting it right in the song doesn’t exactly help), but the words are easily the least important ingredient here. Even that track is almost redeemed by the band’s playful Southern pep. The rest of the time, whatever the style, things bounce happily along and the gang’s infectious interplay is half the fun. Unplugged or not, Sync’s delightfully eclectic dance party is a stomping good time.
Rating: Jaunty
