Mixing blues, folk and rock, Kill It Kid’s eponymous debut album is without doubt, a masterpiece. Full of unabashed rock and tender melodies, the album is a rollercoaster ride of massive musical proportions, taking the listener on a journey through sound…Kicking off with the storming Heaven Never Seemed So Close, it’s easy to see why Kill It Kid have received so much critical acclaim this early on into their career. A fiery blend of violin driven folk and killer blues, this is possibly the perfect album opener: ballsy and brutal, and yet full of heart and emotion.
Next up is Burst Its Banks, recently released as a single, which not only harbours tender strings but also a hard-rocking chorus, shared between the double-headed front-entity that is Chris Turpin and Stephanie Ward. Whereas Ward’s voice is silky and smooth; Turpin’s is firmly rooted in the blues which obviously heavily influences the band, and lies somewhere between The Answer frontman Cormac Neeson and Hijak Oscar’s Tim Fox.
Following on comes Ivy and Oak, which, with a high-energy chant-along ending, leads interestingly into the bluesy ballad Fool For Loving You. This is one of the album’s slower moments, but the record doesn’t lose pace, and here Ward is able to display the full extent of her vocal talents, joining the ranks of classic blues singers with a rough yet luxuriously rich tone.
Send Me An Angel Down then begins quietly and slowly builds, crescendoing into a huge heartfelt anthem before the folk stylings of Private Idaho, packed full of fiddles and picked acoustic guitar, where again Ward is allowed freedom to show off her range; this time being the sole lead singer, with Turpin taking the backseat.
The pace is then picked up once more; Turpin’s rough bluesy voice cutting through the mash-up of country and rock n roll which is My Lips Won’t Be Kept Clean. Strangely, the track is both reminiscent of the sort of music heard in a Pixar short, and something you might expect Elvis to sing; the result being a mesmerising song, with duelling vocals and an oh-so-catchy fiddle riff.
And the ‘rock n country’ continues on into Troubles of Loretta, a song lovingly layered with piano, fiddle and good old fashioned rock n roll Chuck Berry-style guitars. The track drives the album onwards at a terrific pace, and serves as a perfect bridge between the countrified section of the album and the atmospheric Dirty Water which follows. Beginning peacefully, this laid back track suddenly explodes into a wall of noisy blues, with a tremoloed fuzzy guitar solo, and a sing-a-long exhilarating chorus that is sure to send shivers down the listener’s spine.
Bye Bye Bird is, again, a blues classic in the making, swathed in piano, and with at times almost Latin drums. Vocal harmonies and a pulsing beat keep this penultimate track steaming towards the big finale, which comes with Taste The Rain. Beginning with an understated piano melody and Turpin’s passionate vocals, the track slowly begins to build, with drums and guitar being added along the way as the track dips and dives; switching between tender ballad and loud, emotional blues.
Formed at university, and with a line-up that was only finalised in February 2008, it’s wildly impressivefor a band as young as Kill It Kid (whose average age is somewhere near 21) to make an album as stunning and magical as this. Drawing on influences from the worlds of blues, folk and rock, the band have created something which most bands can only dream of. Not only is this album a spectacular debut, it might just be the best album you hear all year.
Kill It Kid are co-headlining a UK-wide tour with Sparrow & the Workshop through October, in support of their debut album which is release on the 5th of October via One Little Indian.
For more information, check out www.myspace.com/killitkid
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