Mother of dragons! Well, “Khaleesi” has nothing to do with Game of Thrones, but I suppose it packs the sort of female-fronted ferociousness that could aptly serve as a marching song for a dragon-wielding army fronted by that Targaryen girl. The track’s maker, Odd Hours, is a four-piece based out of Detroit that incorporates post-punk and art-rock into an aggressively lean sound, one marked by crunchy guitar riffs, active rhythms, and the hypnotic yet energetic howl of Natasha Beste. The band has a few adjectives for their sound as well: dark, sexy, playful, loud, anthemic, familiar and distant.
“Khaleesi” begins with a punchy series of verses that allows Beste to energize her vocal delivery, doing so to provide listeners with a sharp transition at around the 45-second mark, where the guitars take a backseat in favor of bustling bass and steady percussion. Beste’s vocals are more restrained here as well, but it only takes until the re-entry of guitars for her to launch back into it passionately, with a wordless “ooh”-ing that leads into the punchy chorus. “Khaleesi” is a darkly anthemic thrill ride that shows Odd Hours as a band very capable of producing a fervent reaction.
