Kill It Kid - Kill It Kid [Album]

One Little Indian - Out Now

A beguiling one this little bunch as it's not really an album you could associate with a bunch of young'uns such as Kill It Kid as it really sounds like some kind of mid 70's cross between Fleetwood Mac, in all their Stevie Nicks glorious poppiness; The Smiths, with their Morrissey croonery, and a bluegrass tribute band. Which as you can see is going to produce something that's both beguiling yet uniquely satisfying. Kill It Kid are very much that as they blend genres at a whim which is every bit down to the vocal tag team of Chris Turpin and Steph Ward who couldn't contrast more if they tried yet somehow they also blend somewhat effortlessly.

The eponymous debut throws you in with the rabble-rousing blues stomp of 'Heaven Never Seemed So Close' which somersaults through bluesy riffs, drills through a tightly coiled rhythm section, and is topped by the dual vocals that take it into almost country duet territory. All sprinkled on top with hand-claps which I just love. Followed with the similarly veined early single 'Burst Its Banks' that carries the alt-country motif but aligns it to some boogie-piano as Turpin does a glorious Whippin' Piccadilly Gomez impression, it's full on.

'Ivy And Oak' is a more straight forward track sounding like something I would expect from say a Norah Jones if she embraced a little blues now and again instead of moping into her mineral water. It's that kind of hybrid that still holds a sort of over the top sentimentality. Again with 'Fool For Loving You' there's an almost over commercial verve to Kill It Kid but they always seem to throw in something that will make you forget that; be it stray banjo's or unexpected riffing or in 'Send Me An Angel Down' a Chris Turpin vocal that sounds like Alison Moyet in her eighties heyday. You kind of get submerged in the track that on repeat listens sounds so simply eloquent.

Again altering their stride, Kill It Kid go with Steph Ward as lead vocalist for 'Private Idaho' allowing her to wrap her luscious vocals round a gentle country melody and I now begin to wonder just how exactly Kill It Kid are not so much bigger as this is infinitely better than any Duffy or Amy MacDonald or anything Simon Cowell parps out of his arse - this deserves so much more.

'My Lips Won't Be Kept Clean' comes over all too Beautiful South for my liking. They've just gone one step too far but there's still that toe tapping element that I can't shift and this continues with the early White Stripes flavouring of 'Troubles Of Loretta.' Whilst 'Dirty Water' aims low with a much more mellow intro which settles you in with it's soothing vocals. This is before it hits you with Gothic fiddles and sudden bursts of vigorous band splatter. 'Bye Bye Bird' again makes use of Turpin's unique vocals bringing an almost baritone depth to a track that goes for the mid-western bar room brawl feel.

Final track 'Taste The Rain' eases in with melodic piano and then that deep soulful vocal of Chris Turpin that is met with more bluesy steel guitar and those fiddle stabs that carry the song upward. It tries to be both a gentle track and an uplifting, soaring one which Kill It Kid manage to pull off and have managed to do so for the majority of the album.

Again I have to wonder why we get such middle of the road crap on our radios and in our charts when there are bands such as Kill It Kid. They take the formulaic sound and twist it to their own ends by throwing in historical music like delta blues and fifties soul to achieve a much broader scope. It's a refreshing debut album that might at first come over a little to commercial or contrived for those that strive to stay 'alternative.' Regardless, Kill It Kid will pick up many a dedicated follower of which I am now one.

Track-listing:
1. Heaven Never Seemed So Close
2. Burst It Banks
3. Ivy And Oak
4. Fool For Loving You
5. Send Me An Angel Down
6. Private Idaho
7. My Lips Won't Be Kept Clean
8. Troubles Of Loretta
9. Dirty Water
10. Bye Bye Bird
11. Taste The Rain

Kill It Kid Are:
Chris Turpin - Lead vocals, Guitar and Songs
Steph Ward - Lead Vocals and Piano
Richard Jones- Fiddle and Backing Vocals
Marc Jones - Drums and Percussion
Adam Timmins - Bass, Banjo (Guitars)

2009 Tourdates:
12 Nov 2009 20:00 The Croft Bristol
17 Nov 2009 20:00 Glee Club w\ Foy VanceBirmingham
18 Nov 2009 20:00 The Duchess w\ Foy Vance York
20 Nov 2009 20:00 Brudenell Social Club w\ Foy Vance Leeds
21 Nov 2009 20:00Phoenix w\ Foy Vance Exeter
22 Nov 2009 20:00 Glee Club w\ Foy Vance Cardiff
23 Nov 2009 20:00 Jericho Tavern w\ Foy Vance Oxford
25 Nov 2009 20:00 Bodega w\ Foy Vance Nottingham
26 Nov 2009 20:00 Drift w\ Foy VancePortsmouth
28 Nov 2009 20:00 The Royal w\ Foy Vance Derby
29 Nov 200920:00 Ruby Lounge w\ Foy Vance Manchester
30 Nov 2009 20:00 Classic Grand w\ Foy Vance Glasgow
1 Dec 2009 20:00 Hootenanny w\ Foy Vance Inverness
2 Dec 2009 20:00 The Warehouse w\ Foy Vance Aberdeen
4 Dec 200920:00 Dolans Warehouse w\ Foy Vance Limerick
5 Dec 2009 20:00 Cyprus Avenue w\ Foy Vance Cork
6 Dec 2009 20:00 Academy 2 w\ Foy Vance Dublin
8 Dec 2009 20:00 Union Chapel w\ Foy Vance London
12 Dec 2009 20:00The Monarch London

Kill It Kid Official Website
Kill It Kid on MySpace Music