Slack Key ‘Ohana’s latest single, Slack Key Blues, is a sun-soaked, steel-stringed invitation to let your limbs go limp and your calendar evaporate, even if just for the length of a three-minute track.
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The band, which has been quietly carving out their own lane by merging traditional Hawaiian slack key guitar with American blues structures, seems to have found a new center of gravity with Kela Sako on vocals. And yeah, let’s talk about that voice — not flashy, not theatrically powerful, but precise in tone and full of that unforced charisma that makes you think she could sing you the terms and conditions of a car rental agreement and still make it sound like an emotional moment.
Now look — I’m not trying to sell you a timeshare in Maui or convince you to swap your Spotify algorithm for ukulele-core. But Slack Key Blues really does make you want to throw your phone in the ocean, find a porch with a view, and waste the day doing nothing in particular. And yes, that’s the corniest possible reaction, but you know what? I don’t care—if this is musical escapism, then give me a damn umbrella drink and crank Slack Key Blues.
SCORE 9/10
No one’s in a hurry, and the track’s better for it.
Indie Boulevard Magazine 