k. is the "solo" project of Ida bassist Karla Schickele, and-- what a surprise-- her debut full-length breaks new ground for mediocrity. In fact, it's hard to imagine a more non-offensive collection of songs that take you neither one way nor the other. New Problems is not bad enough to warrant serious disdain, but neither is it exciting, original, insightful, inspiring, cathartic, or any of the other things I look for in a listening experience. If I could, I'd give this album a rating of 5.00000 to emphasize just how middling it is. Even a bunch of guest musicians-- Tara Jane O'Neil, Schickele's former Beekeeper bandmate Jan Kotik, and most of the rest of Ida-- couldn't add anything redeeming.

Things look bleak from the outset. First there's the whole Ida/Lisa Loeb connection (need I explain?), and secondly, the song "Telegram" is a Silvia Plath poem is set to music. I don't know about you, but I can't stand Silvia Plath. Not only does she represent the height of poetic pretension to me, but the people who are into her writings are arguably more intolerable than her poetry.

Strangely enough, "Telegram" was the song I enjoyed the most on the album, if you want to call it "enjoying." Let's say that, after hearing it, I shrugged and said "eh" to myself with slightly less vigor than with the other songs. But like the rest of the album, it sat firmly at the tolerable level. It's a slightly bluesy, bare-bones type of song-- just acoustic guitar and voice-- and at least for this one track, Schickele doesn't try too hard to be cute or emotive.