Kill It Kid - Kill It Kid EP (One Little Indian)
4/5
By: Kevin Molloy
We prophesy: there will be mid-way split in the fractious music industry. There will be those who think Kill it Kid are the most exciting roots/indie crossover offering of 2009. And there will also be those disagree - those who are wrong.
The reason that so many will hold erroneous opinions is that it's difficult to adjust the ears to a new sound. That's why country singers the globe over sing with that American twang. It's why most bands are boring. It's why Kill it Kid are so engaging.
So it's all in the voice: Chris Turpin's rasping, emotive, deep-throated wails are set to divide popular opinion firmly into stalwarts and the joyous vocal anarchists. It will be Antony & The Johnsons all over again, except that this is no meandering warble, but tenderly vocalised gravel.
The only shame in all of this is that the inevitable war of the yay-or-naysayers will obscure the fact that Kill it Kid just happen to write really great songs. Steph Ward's co-lead vocals swim in harmony above Turpin's melodies, whilst the violin punches holes in your speakers in 'Burst Its Banks'. There's an all-out riot in the barn in 'Heaven Never Seemed So Close'. Never has a band trod so closely to to the Country and Rock 'n' Roll border without being in danger of a pastiche...
This EP showcases their softer side too, with Ward's sole lead vocal on the lighters-aloft 'Private Idaho', and the potentially stadium-rousing shared chorus of 'Send Me An Angel Down'. Kill it Kid are best when they're literally bursting their banks, but both tracks are a gorgeous balance to their more raucous side...
So in short, Kill it Kid have got us utterly won over. We just want to know what on earth Turpin's vocals are going to sound like come album number 5? The second coming of Tom Waits, run through an overpowered valve-amp? We can't wait, either way...
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