13 years ago, Max Bien Kahn moved to New Orleans. Kahn, a San Francisco native, was a songwriter then but in Louisiana he became a performer—busking up and down Royal Street with jazz and country bands, playing upright bass and guitar until it became a full-time gig. Now, much of his time is spent playing tenor banjo in the traditional jazz band Tuba Skinny. But it’s been a busy four years for Max Bien Kahn, the solo artist, too. His second album All the Same came out spring 2021, and at that time Kahn was nearly done with When I Cross It Off, which he made with local folk hero Duff Thompson, and was working on his forthcoming LP Flowers.
Kahn’s never made an album like Flowers before - the songs get personal without losing his trademark brightness. He’ll always try to be funny about the things that are following him around, be it death, marriage, and whatever triumphs and tragedies fall someplace in-between. Flowers is a rock-steady album that inexplicably documents our humanity and who we become in the wake of loss and on the precipice of falling in love.
-Matt Mitchell
photo by Noe Cugny
Press
"Bien Kahn crafts charming jangle pop with a touch of twang that tackles a range of classic Americana sounds and filters them through a pastiche of contemporary styles. Using minimal equipment to evoke a live sound, an interplay of steel and sax creates a mesmerizing balancing act, blending tradition and innovation into stirring and lively compositions. It’s a testament to Bien Kahn’s ability to cultivate an uplifting dance tune while the lyrics explore grief.
His writing style is at once cathartic and witty, always bolstered by his uncanny knack for melody.
When I Cross it Off is the perfect New Orleans summer soundtrack, while sweet jasmine fills the dense air."
—Danielle Dietze, Antigravity Magazine
"Max Bien Kahn has a charm rarely seen in modern music today, and we can imagine his new album, When I Cross It Off, will further cement his status as one of the more unique voices in the indie folk rock world."
-David Fussell, Music Mecca
"It’s gloriously, beautifully sad in a way not usually found outside Brian Wilson’s sandbox or Gram Parsons’ desert hell."
-Robert Fontenot, Offbeat review of "Please Hold On"