Kill it Kid were widely tipped as a breakthrough band on their debut around five years ago. Now, on their third outing they’ve managed to shake off the old cliché of the ‘difficult second album’ but there’s still much scrutinizing and peering into the very soul of this grungy, Americana spewing British four-piece to be done.
Personally, the White Stripes were never appealing. Their always deliberate and contrived-sounding disjointed riffs got irritating, quick. Comparisons to bands in that mould will be avoided after this paragraph, fortunately. Although, Kill It Kid manage to be more coherent and purposeful than the White Stripes; more forceful and less NME than The Black Keys.
When half a song is taken up by grungy, messy guitar hooks, the creeping feeling that “maybe this won’t go anywhere” is hard to avoid. Forget that though, because particularly on ‘High Class’, ‘Black It Out’ and ‘Blood Stop and Run’ there is a real feeling of closure. The third track, ‘High Class’ as an example, lures you into a grunge-Americana-fusion breakdown, and it’s really satisfying to hear.
The same can’t be said for ‘Tired of The Way You Want To Live’ and ‘Don’t It Feel Good’. These two tracks feature guitar solos reminiscent of a certain song by Santana ft. Rob Thomas with vague lyrics in the same vein. Her voice is searing and passionate, but the lead singer yelling “Don’t It Feel Good” repeatedly over an ambiguous melody isn’t the strongest point on ‘You Owe Nothing’.
However, there are other points on this record where Kill It Kid’s acclaim feels deserved. The opener, ‘Law of Love’, shows the potential that Chris Turpin and Stephanie Ward’s vocals hold. Those vocal harmonies are almost haunting – it’s a pity that they’re rarely found on the rest of the album. Towards the end of the album, ‘I’ll Be The First’ is sure to be have been described as a ‘barnstormer’ by the majority of the British music press, which is a totally justifiable label to use in this case.
‘You Owe Nothing’ benefits from some great production which emphasises those sludgy guitar bits but lets the vocals shine through when needed. The album is a mixed bag, though there are more than a few examples of brilliance here. If bluesy, driven, distorted rock is your thing, then ‘Kill It Kid’ will push all of your buttons.
SAMARTH KANAL