Kjband’s eleventh album is called Portraits. Lyrically, it is the follow up to the 6th album, Real Life, finished in 2014. The song, Our Art, from that album, was written about Carolyn and my artistic drive to create, and had a lyric - ‘Together we paint portraits/ Of this real life that we frame’. This lyric was an inspiration, and we decided that our next record would be called Portraits. It took 5 years for Carolyn and myself to complete the writing of these portraits, most of which turned out to be about loved ones and family members.

 Four of the earlier songs written were recorded for the kjband - Live album in 2017 (Bitter Pill, The Phoenix, Man of Few Words, Evergreen Girl) but the versions on this studio album are the definitive versions. Full horn section arrangements grace Bitter Pill and Evergreen Girl, and The Phoenix and Man of Few Words have the brilliant Marco Vitale on violin. 

This album features a new lead singer, Peter McCulloch. His powerful and soulful vocals really bring a new dynamic and excitement to kjband’s music. 

The sequencing of these family portraits is notable. Starting with song number 8, there is a Carolyn lyric about her mother (Invisible), then a Ken lyric about his mother (Mother), a Carolyn lyric about her father (The Phoenix), a Ken lyric about his father (Man of Few Words), then the album finishes with Ken’s song written about Carolyn as a gift for a big birthday (Evergreen Girl), and Ken’s self-portrait (Rock Star). 

Recording of this album started in early 2019 and was finished late in 2020, despite the pandemic!. It is available on ITunes, Amazon.com, Spotify, and the major streaming services.