Gabriel Kahane - The Ambassador

In his L.A. album, Kahane seems interested not merely in architectural structures... but also in the lives lived inside them. Assuming the perspective of different characters - the doorman of the now-closed Ambassador Hotel, the heroine of the James M. Cain novel Mildred Pierce, a young victim of inner-city gun violence - he covers a wide swath of L.A.'s history and demographics. - VogueFrom Die Hard to the architecture of Richard Neutra and R.M. Schindler, from Blade Runner to the fiction of James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler, and from fires, riots, and earthquakes to the lives of so many Americans who have looked to Southern California as a panacea, Gabriel Kahane's The Ambassador is a portrait of Los Angeles through the lens of ten street addresses, one for each song. Available now on vinyl for the first time.One of the year's very best albums - Rolling StoneA sustained conjuring act - The New York Times