Following a four-year stay in Calgary, Jordan Klassen returned to his hometown of Vancouver in 2010, where he began work on Kindness. A four-track EP, it is a stellar example of how Klassen has grown into an identifiable artist with a strong grasp of his own sound.
This EP is a meld between his 2009 release of Tempest and Winter, full of brighter tones, and the more recent St. Brigid EP of 2010, which featured a more melancholic mood.
The first and last tracks of Kindness boast sunny tones and faster-paced melodies, while “I Am a Collector” and “Threads” are much more slow and wistful.
Though this EP is quite similar to Klassen’s 2009 release, it is evident that this is not stagnancy, only a further exploration into what he may consider to be his sound.
What makes Jordan Klassen’s timbre his own on this EP is the instrumental diversity and the tone of his voice- soothing and sometimes concaving into a gentle falsetto. With Kindness, Klassen conjures up beautiful and vivid imagery in the listener’s mind.
At a time in indie music culture where whistling, brass instruments and “oooh”-ing are at the height of their collective popularity, Kindness fits right in there with the rest of the crowd. The EP is well-written and exquisitely crafted, though perhaps not as daring as some of his older releases.
If you would like to cuddle up to Klassen’s warm voice, talented instrumentals and soothing stories yet again, be sure to listen to this one.