Halifax Collect: KIMONO

I must admit to approaching this record with a touch of trepidation. Though I was embarrassingly blind to the brilliance of this band when first exposed to them nearly a decade ago, my eyes (or should I say ears) were thankfully opened soon afterward and I can now appreciate them as one of the most compelling, interesting, and original bands of the past decade. They're a band that, the more you listen to them, the more you appreciate the rich depths and nuances of their music. A large part of that precious whole was Alex's deep, moody vocals, particularly on the first two albums. So I was a bit concerned that Alison's vocals would alter their sound in some detrimental way.

Well, my concerns were put to rest within seconds of dropping the needle on the A-side of this single. The vocals do have a markedly higher tone to them, but they sound thoroughly fucking great. In fact, it's perhaps even a natural progression from the vocals on Easy Music for Difficult People, which tended to be overall a bit more higher-pitched and sanguine than on the first two albums.

Another progression continued here is a trend toward increasing accessibility in the songwriting. Of course, this is only based on one song, but I venture to say that "Specters" is without a doubt Kimono's most radio-friendly song to date. This is in no way a slight or to say that it's some kind of throwaway pop song, but rather that it's just catchy as hell. It also has a vaguely early-'80s feel to it which perfectly compliments the extremely-well-executed cover of Þeyr's early-'80s über-classic "Rúdolf" on the flip side.

Yeah, man, if this tidbit of a record is representative of the upcoming album as a whole, we're looking at yet another great Kimono album, one I eagerly await. I dearly hope I get to see these guys live someday. [Theory Of Whatever]
- John Evicci

Halifax Collect

Interviews

Thursday, November 6, 2014

KIMONO - Specters

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