By: Jay
Hampshire
Album Type: Full Length
Date
Released: 03/03/2017
Label: Krachladen Records
Their bass heavy instrumental sound
sees them swimming in the same tidal pool as acts like Big Business and the
legendary Melvins, but perhaps without the anthemic hooks of the former and the
flagrant disregard of genre boundaries of the latter. An enjoyable soundtrack, if not a cerebral
challenge.
“Kitsch”
CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Octo Kaa
Wai
2. Ihre
Idole sind Luegner
3. Arr arr
Cincinnaticat
4. Uhu
5. Saudade
6. Trio
Paradisoprivan
7.
Kanarienvoegelnerven
The Review:
Opener ‘Octo
Kaa Waii’ certainly isn’t cute or demure, striking out with a flatulent
bass groove that flits around with antsy, almost nervous energy. When the drums
lock in, things start to drive, and the bass tone throughout (and indeed
throughout the record) is pleasingly chunky. It spools out into a real head
bobber, powered by some impressive kick work, ending on big scraping held
notes.
‘Ihre Idole
sind Luegner’ is
absolutely filthy, dripping with madcap tempo shifts, ballsy straight eights
and brief snippets of more melodious lines. ‘Arr arr Cincinnaticat’ burbles
and bounces along, throwing in curve balls of stop-start riffs and atonal
overlays, but is hampered by a call and response section that drags a little.
‘Uhu’ from a muted fret-noise
loop into jarring, chugging single notes that hit with mechanical, punchy
precision. ‘Saudade’ twists and turns as toms mete out a big, infectious
groove, before closing with a righteous fuzzed-out solo run. ‘Trio
Paradisoprivan’ is more of a thoughtful meander, not as punchy with a
decent amount of considered layering. Finale ‘Kanarienvoegelnerven’ follows
a similar path, sweeping with a cinematic post-rock flair and an edge of the
dramatic, petering out into a frail synth whine.
While the
trio achieve a lot using all their rhythmic, groove laden powers, there’s a
sense of ‘lack’ surrounding “Kitsch”. It’s not as simple as a
lack of vocals or high-end instrumentation. Overall it seems to be a lack of
true dynamic shift, of differentiation between each track. While the songs are
all different, there seems to be an absence of truer form or distinction –
nothing on “Kitsch” will really
grab the attention of most. ‘Aimless’ is too cruel a word, but the trio don’t
possess the same surety of purpose as some of their peers.
This isn’t to do the band a disservice, it is just that the album seems to
place itself into ‘background listening’ territory. An enjoyable soundtrack, if
not a cerebral challenge.
“Kitsch”
is available to buy/preorder here
