DaveZeroZero
08/10/08, 10:39 AM
Kidnapping the City - Indirections EP
Record Label: None
Release Date: July 4, 2008
As a starting comment, I should probably say I don’t usually enjoy female-fronted bands. I don’t exactly know what it is about them but, whatever it is, Kidnapping the City manage to avoid it. Whilst they call Indirections an EP, at seven tracks it’s really more of a mini-album, which is great because it means there’s no room for filler but still room for plenty of good tracks.
It’s 4:21 in the morning – sunrise in southern Norway – and it’s still no time for the oddly-synthesized strings intro to “Austerity”. I never thought I’d say this next bit though: the female vocals save it and actually bring a lot to the table. The music then steps up to get the song and the mini-album as a whole really started. It’s a nice little pop-rock ditty, capped perfectly which features a guitar effect somewhat reminiscent of 1997. The first chorus is followed by a solo, a trend I’ve been seeing increasingly lately. And though it might not be entirely necessary at this point, it is competently played and well-written in order to fit in well with the rest of the music. Rather than sticking to the old verse-chorus-verse structure, each “verse” is different from the others and helps to keep things fresh.
The next track, “Enterprise”, enjoys the same pop-rock sensibilities of “Austerity” and gets bonus points with me for using an effect which reminded me of the The Sleeping. “We’d Still Hear the Noise”, the third track, features some more intricate guitar work in places, coupled with some great energy & drive to make this another solid track from the Californian three-piece. Parts of it, in a way, even somewhat resemble the sound of At the Drive-In – and that’s never a bad thing.
Some poppy sweeping ensues on track four, entitled “Couldn’t This Be a Little Different?”, a song which continues to make use of the band’s strengths and catchiness. A jazzy, bass-driven intro leads into the hook, a really crisp and catchy melody which just makes you want to want to jump up & dance. In fact, the rest of the song, “Constants”, has this effect and has by far the most interesting musicianship on Indirection.
Track six, “Part A. Part B. Alcohol & Brevity” is two seconds long. Wait, what? Two seconds you say? Brevity is right! Well, actually, the song isn’t actually this short, but the version I received is. The song itself is a pretty tame affair, that obligatory soft song on any CD, and I feel that perhaps their style was better left un-tampered-with.
Now, onto the final song of the record, “Modified Behavior”, which again features more sweeping along with, in some places, somewhat ethereal-sounding layered vocals to good effect before putting two guitars onto strumming duty. Oh my god, a phaser! Oh wow, I haven’t heard one of these in a while and it didn’t last long here either. Nonetheless, it brought a smile to my face before ushering in the upbeat chorus and, after that, a solo, some more vocals and guitars, along with the end of the song and, therefore, the record.
In terms of production, there’s nothing to really complain about; the instruments & vocals are all well mixed, giving the music a full sound. The drums also manage to avoid one of the things I most abhor about production – recording the cymbals too hot & having an undefined and mushy sound to the cymbals because of it.
So, to finish, I feel I must thank Kidnapping the City for recording something female-fronted that I can actually enjoy time & time again. Hopefully they’ll usurp Paramore sometime soon.
01. Austerity
02. Enterprise
03. We’d Still Hear the Noise
04. Couldn’t This Be a Little Different?
05. Constants
06. Part A. Part B. Alcohol & Brevity
07. Modified Behavior
Paramore, 1997
myspace.com/kidnappingthecity (http://www.myspace.com/kidnappingthecity)
Record Label: None
Release Date: July 4, 2008
As a starting comment, I should probably say I don’t usually enjoy female-fronted bands. I don’t exactly know what it is about them but, whatever it is, Kidnapping the City manage to avoid it. Whilst they call Indirections an EP, at seven tracks it’s really more of a mini-album, which is great because it means there’s no room for filler but still room for plenty of good tracks.
It’s 4:21 in the morning – sunrise in southern Norway – and it’s still no time for the oddly-synthesized strings intro to “Austerity”. I never thought I’d say this next bit though: the female vocals save it and actually bring a lot to the table. The music then steps up to get the song and the mini-album as a whole really started. It’s a nice little pop-rock ditty, capped perfectly which features a guitar effect somewhat reminiscent of 1997. The first chorus is followed by a solo, a trend I’ve been seeing increasingly lately. And though it might not be entirely necessary at this point, it is competently played and well-written in order to fit in well with the rest of the music. Rather than sticking to the old verse-chorus-verse structure, each “verse” is different from the others and helps to keep things fresh.
The next track, “Enterprise”, enjoys the same pop-rock sensibilities of “Austerity” and gets bonus points with me for using an effect which reminded me of the The Sleeping. “We’d Still Hear the Noise”, the third track, features some more intricate guitar work in places, coupled with some great energy & drive to make this another solid track from the Californian three-piece. Parts of it, in a way, even somewhat resemble the sound of At the Drive-In – and that’s never a bad thing.
Some poppy sweeping ensues on track four, entitled “Couldn’t This Be a Little Different?”, a song which continues to make use of the band’s strengths and catchiness. A jazzy, bass-driven intro leads into the hook, a really crisp and catchy melody which just makes you want to want to jump up & dance. In fact, the rest of the song, “Constants”, has this effect and has by far the most interesting musicianship on Indirection.
Track six, “Part A. Part B. Alcohol & Brevity” is two seconds long. Wait, what? Two seconds you say? Brevity is right! Well, actually, the song isn’t actually this short, but the version I received is. The song itself is a pretty tame affair, that obligatory soft song on any CD, and I feel that perhaps their style was better left un-tampered-with.
Now, onto the final song of the record, “Modified Behavior”, which again features more sweeping along with, in some places, somewhat ethereal-sounding layered vocals to good effect before putting two guitars onto strumming duty. Oh my god, a phaser! Oh wow, I haven’t heard one of these in a while and it didn’t last long here either. Nonetheless, it brought a smile to my face before ushering in the upbeat chorus and, after that, a solo, some more vocals and guitars, along with the end of the song and, therefore, the record.
In terms of production, there’s nothing to really complain about; the instruments & vocals are all well mixed, giving the music a full sound. The drums also manage to avoid one of the things I most abhor about production – recording the cymbals too hot & having an undefined and mushy sound to the cymbals because of it.
So, to finish, I feel I must thank Kidnapping the City for recording something female-fronted that I can actually enjoy time & time again. Hopefully they’ll usurp Paramore sometime soon.
01. Austerity
02. Enterprise
03. We’d Still Hear the Noise
04. Couldn’t This Be a Little Different?
05. Constants
06. Part A. Part B. Alcohol & Brevity
07. Modified Behavior
Paramore, 1997
myspace.com/kidnappingthecity (http://www.myspace.com/kidnappingthecity)