The Kennedy Soundtrack - 'Tale Of 2 Cities' (Instant Karma)
3/5
By: Thomas Hannan
The delight on the faces of the big guns at Instant Karma when they discovered The Kennedy Soundtrack must have been something else. After all, here's a band that are so tailor-made to appeal to every young fan of heavy rock music today, male or female, that they couldn't have made them up if they tried. In fact, let's just go over those selling-points:
They swear!
They've got spiky hair!
There's a robot on the cover!
And it's covered in graffiti!
... Obviously, this band is more 'now' than today's date...
Yet aside from such characteristics, the musical-appeal is also rather blatant; sheer determination oozes out of each one of their monster riffs, coupled with a refreshing honesty about the group's own strengths and limitations - and one listen to the voice and rhymes of frontman Nic Harvard should convince you of that.
Reference points are easily made - such as their sounding alike of the metal-jazz-rock soup of Faith No More, the freaky funk of Red Hot Chilli Peppers and the heavy Rage-isms of their meaty guitar-hooks. Unlike a lot of metal bands that may be irritated by these comparisons, though, The Kennedy Soundtrack wear them proudly on their sleeves (the storming opener 'Wrong Day' being a prime example).
However, in a world of metal where the ludicrous but brilliant System Of A Down rant incessantly about government scandal and conspiracy, the tales herein of getting over lost love by smoking weed seem rather transparent. And boy, do these guys like a smoke; utterances to cannabis litter the entire album, eventually starting to grate somewhat. Yet, thankfully, The Kennedy Soundtrack always manage to bring it back from the brink when they seem to be slipping into a formula, the slick production and bubblegum vocals supplied by Dave Challenger providing tracks such as standout single 'Killing Music', which offers an infectious chorus over dark, old-skool hip-hop grooves and anti-music industry commentary to form possibly the most fully realised track on the album.
In a fair planet, any band with such a drive and energy as TKS deserve to go far - and their debut suitably proves that they have the tunes, self-belief and attitude to wrestle with the American big boys and win over the metal kids. Sure, at times a bit too polished, but there are enough subtle moments of greatness on 'Tale Of Two Cities' to suggest that, by the second album, the 'Soundtrack may well have an opportunity to win over other music-lovers as well.
Artists in this article: The Kennedy Soundtrack
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