Khruangbin – White Gloves ii
Khruangbin surprise-released “The Universe Smiles Upon You ii” on November 6th, marking the 10th anniversary of their debut album. The Houston trio of Laura Lee Ochoa, Mark Speer, and DJ Johnson returned to the same Central Texas barn where they recorded the original, re-cutting all 10 tracks on the actual anniversary of those 2015 sessions.
The band recorded with producer Steve Christensen, mixed at Terminal C in Houston, and mastered by Chris Longwood. They made functional updates to the barn, ripping out the old plywood dancefloor that had become a sanctuary for critters and installing new space heaters. Weather turned bitterly cold during the four-day session, forcing them to huddle closer together while recording.
“White Gloves ii” unlocked when DJ Johnson suggested turning it into “country disco”. The track features a rural-funk canter under bittersweet vocals and guitars. Speer became fascinated with early European instruments during recent tours, bringing that enthusiasm to these sessions by playing acoustic guitar alongside Lee’s hollow-body Höfner bass and Johnson’s brushed drums. He covered instruments in contact mics to capture close, intimate sound.
“The Universe Smiles Upon You ii” closes Khruangbin’s first chapter. The band has sold out venues from Red Rocks to Radio City, crowned festivals from Glastonbury to Bonnaroo, and earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist after their 2024 album “A LA SALA”. The re-recording provides a point of pause before their next run.
Tracklist:
- Little Joe and Mary ii
- Balls and Pins ii
- White Gloves ii
- The Man Who Took My Sunglasses ii
- People Everywhere ii
- Bin Bin ii
- August Twelve ii
- Dern Kala ii
- Two Fish and an Elephant ii
- Zionsville ii
North America:
- November 5: The Heights Theater, Houston, TX (SOLD OUT)
- November 6: The Heights Theater, Houston, TX (SOLD OUT)
- November 9: Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA (SOLD OUT)
- November 10: Webster Hall, New York, NY (SOLD OUT)
- November 11: 9:30 Club, Washington, DC (SOLD OUT)
- November 13: Metro, Chicago, IL (SOLD OUT)
- November 14: First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN (SOLD OUT)
- November 16: Boulder Theater, Boulder, CO (SOLD OUT)
- November 18: The Wilma, Missoula, MT (SOLD OUT)
- November 19: Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA (SOLD OUT)
- November 20: McMenamins Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR (SOLD OUT)
- November 22: The Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, CA (SOLD OUT)
- November 23: The Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, CA (SOLD OUT)
- November 24: The Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, CA (SOLD OUT)
- November 25: The Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, CA (SOLD OUT)
