Having established herself on her debut as an important new acoustic guitar voice, and having expanded the sonic palette on her second to include other instrumentation, {$Kaki King} once again rethinks her approach from the ground up on number three. While there is still deft fingerstyle guitar to spare, more of {$King}'s picking is set inside of a greater context -- percussion and light orchestration provide new universes for her to explore, and she revels in the experimental possibilities. Much of {^Until We Felt Red} retains the lighter-than-air feel of the first two albums, {^Everybody Loves You} and {^Legs to Make Us Longer}, but {$King} takes greater care here to fill the spaces with often unanticipated sounds and textures. Both electric guitars and electronics in general, and {$King}'s whispery sweet vocal -- itself used more for coloring than to make important lyrical statements -- also take a front-row seat here. But this is neither a {\singer/songwriter} album nor an attempt to use technology for its own sake. Everything {$King} brings to {^Until We Felt Red}, produced by {$John McEntire}, is in service of the composition, and if that means verging on improvisational {\jazz}, or washing a melody in the quasi-{\baroque}, as she does on {&"You Don't Have to Be Afraid,"} then so be it. The set-closing {&"Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers,"} with its thumped bass and slide guitar, veers toward {\funk} with a touch of Nashville tossed in. But those seeking the imaginative, intricate acoustic playing that characterized {$King}'s earlier work need not, well, fret. Every track -- notably {&"Ahuvati,"} {&"First Brain,"} {&"Second Brain,"} and the title track -- is rich with gleaming guitaristry. What's different is that {$King}, whose first notices came when she entertained New York subway riders, can no longer be described simply as a guitarist. From here on, she'll be watched as a complete artist. ~ Jeff Tamarkin, All Music Guide