L.A.'s Kepano Green began humbly enough when founding members Josh Kauffman and Paul Duncan met at Wheaton College in Chicago and began collaborating. Over the course of the next few years, Duncan and Kauffman established a fairly sizeable fan base for their acoustically-based pop/rock sound, selling a very respectable 20,000 copies of their first two releases, both live albums. The duo picked up drummer Plu Harmon and guest bassist Mark Browne for Waiting for Daylight, the group's first studio album. The new rhythm section is a more than welcome addition for the band, infusing Daylight with a more full-bodied foundation on which to construct the group's sprightly vocal work and impressive instrumental attack. The album begins with a crop of jazz-tinged pop/rock numbers. "All Things" is a dead-on Totoesque fusion of soft rock and jazz anchored to what turns out to be a refreshingly light-hearted look at an often somber verse (Romans 8:28). The similarly jazzy "I Forget" uses thought-provoking lyrics (I will sing you my latest rhyme/ But you say my name/ and it's like the sun is in my eyes) and a piercing juxtaposition of electric and acoustic guitars for a similarly imposing effect. And the heartrendingly melancholy, nearly fatalistic, lyrics of "Don't Let Me Go" (I lie awake, waiting for daylight/ There's no way to explain it/ Even the good hearts break) are the perfect complement for its somber texture, making this piece as poignant as its predecessors were light-hearted.
The group does stray from its jazz leanings here and there, usually with equally striking results. "While You're Sleeping," as the title would imply, is a gentle acoustic guitar-driven composition written to a napping child. Conversely, "Open Hands" employs a gritty, almost harsh, electric guitar tone and semi-oblique lyrics (Had a death grip on the steering wheel/And a broken glass for the way I feel) to lend the song a reggae feel harking back to classic early works from the Police. And "Supernatural," despite its often whimsical lyrics, sports a chugging and infectious rhythm that adeptly keeps the song from venturing into what would otherwise be an exercise in hokeyness and cloying. As commanding as the album is, though, it isn't entirely without defect. The breezy musical section of "LiAnne" is a decidedly awkward companion to the song's serious theme of losing a loved one to cancer. The lyrics to "Tell Him You're Mine" (He's a big-shot man with a Coppertone tan/ And money flying out of his hand/It must be hard to resist / A ride in his Mercedes and the fancy little gifts) border on amateurish. And, "Before You Go," despite its shimmering vocals and impeccable instrumental weave, is ultimately mundane to the point of being passed over. Happily, though, miscues like these are the exception and not the rule. Indeed, the majority of the album is composed of outstanding tracks like the lovely piano-driven ballad "Promise," which expertly walks the delicate balance between restraint and verve, and "Miracle" whose delicate arpeggiatic guitar work and achingly beautiful harmonies give the song a tangible sense of reverence that makes the lion's share of modern praise and worship efforts seem flat by comparison. Throughout the album, the members of Kepano Green weave their songs together with hearty helpings of beaming optimism, highly proficient musicianship and an overarching sense of sincerity that makes this fine debut studio release as distinctive as it is remarkable.
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