Kaia Kater: “Strange Medicine” (2024) CD Review

Kaia Kater is a singer and songwriter whose main instrument is the banjo (though she also plays guitar), that itself helping to set her sound apart. She released her first full-length album, Sorrow Bound, a decade ago, and followed it with Nine Pin in 2016 and Grenades in 2018. Her new album, Strange Medicine, features all original material. And while some tracks deal with historical events and personages, the music remains personal and also relevant to these unsettling times we find ourselves in. The album was produced by Kaia Kater and Joe Grass, and Joe Grass also plays synthesizers, acoustic guitar, electric bass, pump organ and viola. Also joining Kaia Kater on these tracks are Morgan Moore on electric bass, Phil Melanson on drums and percussion, Robbie Kuster on drums and percussion, Rob Moose on strings, Dave Gossage on flute, Josée Marchand on English horn, Brent Besner on clarinet and bass clarinet, Antonin Cuerrier on clarinet, Flo Rousseau on French horn, and Taz Eddy on trumpet. Special guests join Kaia Kater on a few tracks.

Kaia Kater grabs us with the album’s opening track, “The Witch,” which has a compelling and somber vibe. This is one of the tracks about an historical event, the story told from the perspective of a woman accused of witchcraft, and there is an interesting dreamlike quality to the sound at moments. “I’ll stitch myself back together again/Lie on the pyre/And wait for you/I’ll see you soon/And I’ll hunt you then.” I love the strength behind those lines. Aoife O’Donovan joins Kaia Kater on vocals on this track. “The Witch” is followed by “Maker Taker,” this one about a woman performing on stage, about the life and struggle of someone trying to create something personal, something true. But these days what is true is whatever sells, at least according to some. That seems to be what matters in these days when the major labels take no chances. The song has an intimate feel as it begins, especially through her work on banjo. “Six advisers at a round table/Counseling that I may not stay valuable/Unless I’m writing verses/And telling tragic stories.” Even as she sings about these nameless advisers, we sense she is on her own, that she is alone. And the very next line firmly places her alone: “I’m alone on stage with no exit.” The sound builds from that sense of intimacy, in waves rising toward us from the horns. This track also features some wonderful percussion. “Who’s the maker and who’s the taker here?”

There is something dramatic about “Mechanics Of The Mind” right from its opening, as many feet seem to be moving forward, the time ticking. The song’s first lines are captivating: “In the middle of the colony/She sits by the guillotine/Waiting for someone to behead.” Yes, Kaia Kater has a talent for commanding our attention with both an intriguing lyric and an unusual sound. “I need more time,” she sings near the end, and takes it as she continues to riff vocally, as the music builds. That’s followed by “In Montreal.” I love the playfulness of the early line, “Tectonic plates stacked in your sink.” It makes us think of things on both larger and smaller scales, the small becoming great, and the great diminishing, all in that one line. She continues that sort of thing in the next line, “Your body is a country.” Interestingly, time plays a part here too: “This sticking, ticking of time/Screw-top wine and/You turn twenty-nine at midnight.” There is movement here, but it seems circular, and mainly in the mind, finding oneself in the same place. Allison Russell joins Kaia Kater on this track. Like Kaia, Allison was born in Montreal. This track also features some excellent work on strings.

“The Internet” is the song that first got me interested in this album. It was released as a single in January, and the photo that accompanied it also grabbed me, showing her with her eyes closed, a warm fur coat clasped closed by both hands at her chin. There is a sweet and pretty folk vibe to the sound, which is perhaps somewhat at odds with its subject, being able to communicate with someone only through a screen. And, yes, if you’re wondering, it was written during the pandemic when much of our communication was conducted that way. “I spilled my drink onto the internet” is a lovely line, because of course an actual drink would be spilled on the computer, the keyboard, the physical entry to the world of the internet. And I love these lines: “I’m not the saint, the fiend/The stupid machine/’Liking’ likes like I should like the internet.” There is some strange backing vocal work in the middle, words we can’t quite make out. Even apart from the pandemic, so much of our lives and our communication is carried out over the internet these days. I often think it would be weird to grow up now, not knowing a time when people enjoyed each other’s company. “Oh, how I long/To just feel any rush/Out beyond the pull of the internet.”

“Fédon” is about a historical person, Julien Fédon, who led a revolt against British colonists in the late 1700s. Taj Mahal joins Kaia on vocals for this one, which is very cool. This is also the track that gives the album its title in the line “Strange medicine, isn’t it.” I love that instrumental section after the second time she sings that “strange medicine” line. There is some wonderful work on strings, plus some excellent stuff from the horn section. That’s followed by “Floodlights.” Interestingly, this is the second song to mention the age of 29, while our narrator is 17. She says to this older person, “You coiled around me and I fell down, down.” While his body coiled, later she says, “I spent a thousand days trapped in your maze/Twisting my body to make you want me.” This track also contains a strong instrumental section. I also appreciate that this song takes place in the moment she is finally getting free. This is the last of the album’s tracks to feature the horns. “Kick on the floodlights and face the feeling.”

Kaia Kater delivers a beautiful and intimate vocal performance in “Often As The Autumn,” telling us a story of four women and a shadow, a ghost-like entity that is murdering their sheep just as winter is coming on. Her vocals are supported by a strong atmosphere created on organ and viola. There is no happy ending for these woman; nor, I suppose, for any of us. That’s followed by “History In Motion.” This one is a solo effort, Kaia supporting her vocals on banjo. “I drag around my baggage/But I’m scared to look inside/What would I find but/The signs of a wreckage/A collision of exhaustion and grind.” In this song about the effects of inequality and sexism on the individual, she guesses as to the life of a man she sees crossing the street. The album then concludes with “Tigers,” which has a pretty, gentle sound, and features some really nice work on acoustic guitar. I also like the percussion, like waves that batter upon the rocks without moving them. “I’ve been busy molding marble/Scenes from a forgotten time/A sketch of us beside the fountain/Where we ended our engagement.”

CD Track List

1. The Witch
2. Maker Taker
3. Mechanics Of The Mind
4. In Montreal
5. The Internet
6. Fédon
7. Floodlights
8. Often As The Autumn
9. History In Motion
10. Tigers

Strange Medicine was released on May 17, 2024, and is available on both CD and vinyl (and actually, you have two choices when it comes to the vinyl: traditional black and cool blue).