The KBC - 'On The Beat' (High Voltage) Released 19/03/07

If Gigwise could go back and re-write literary history we would do a lot of things. Save Piggy from that bastard Ralph for a start and then go further back in time and break all of Shakespeare’s fingers stopping him writing his stories and thus making us heroes to every child in Britain. One thing we would not do is introduce the word ‘Groove’ to Sherlock Holmes name. The KBC however seem to think this is a good idea. Nobody could be less ‘groovy’; an old man who smoked a pipe and hung around with a man called Watson? A closet homosexual? Yes Groovy? No! Luckily the track we are talking about is a highlight of a fantastic album from Preston’s finest (after David Nugent).

Managing to sound contemporary and classic at the same time is a tricky business but The KBC does it with ease. A mesh of Happy Mondays, The Rapture, Sunshine Underground and The Stone Roses they have their fingers in many pies but sound unique and genuine at the same time. ‘On The Beat’ kicks off with ‘Poisonous Emblem’ before smashing straight into previous single ‘Not Anymore’. Said track is two and a half minutes of perfect autonomous robot pop. ‘Trippin’ meanwhile is a bass heavy slice of dance rock with more scratchy guitars than an XTC reunion.

The album then lurches into somewhat of a pit stop. ‘Test The Water’, ‘Day Of Disillusion’ and ‘Busy Hands’ are all slower than the average KBC song and lack the punch drunk fun of the albums previous and latter output. Luckily ‘Pride Before The Fall’ gets ‘On The Beat!’ back on the straight and narrow with a stop start rhythm that would get the most cynical man tapping his feet. ‘Zeitgeist’ is The KBC’s most ambitious track so far with programmed beats, drum loops and more complex and passionate vocals than ever before. The gamble works though and contributes to the albums strongest points. ‘Best In The Business’ is an angry funk stomp a-thon that is designed to get heart beats racing.

By fusing ‘lad- rock’ with the oh so trendy dance scene are appealing to alternative music’s two biggest audiences. Nobody can accuse them of lacking ambition or alternatively having no tunes. Combining the spirit of ‘Madchester’ to today’s house and electro scenes see’s The KBC tapping into a potential gold mine of sold our chows, credibility and devoted fans. Watch out Klaxons, you’ve got competition.