Tuesday marked the 10th anniversary of The Universe Smiles On You, the debut album from the chilled-out, mostly instrumental Texan soul-funk trio Khruangbin. Since that album's release, Khruangbin have racked up tons of streams and played high up on the bill at vast numbers of music festivals. Last year, they got a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and performed on the telecast. Today, Khruangbin mark the anniversary of that first LP with the surprise release of The Universe Smiles Upon You ii, a re-recorded version of the original.
It's the album so nice they had to make it twice. Khruangbin re-recorded all 10 tracks from The Universe Smiles On You in the same Texas barn where they made it the first time. They've reshuffled the sequence a bit, but these are the same songs. It's a real (Khruangbin's Version) type of situation. The re-recorded songs I've heard sound pretty much exactly like the originals to me, though I must confess that I have a hard time paying deep, close attention to the nuances of Khruangbin records. Below, you can stream the new old album and watch the new video for the re-recording "White Gloves ii."
The Universe Smiles Upon You ii is out now on LeeMaDee/Dead Oceans.
