Kill It Kid 'Kill It Kid' (One Little Indian) Released 05/10/09

From the opening bars of lead track ‘Heaven Never Seemed So Close’, the fact that Kill It Kid originate from the Deep South is never in question. However, upon closer inspection, Kill It Kid were actual conceived in the rural tranquillity of Bath on the River Avon rather than Carolina on the banks of the Mississippi, which makes their deep-rooted blues sound all the more incredible. Add the fact that all five members of the band are barely in their twenties, and its an even more remarkable achievement that on ‘Kill It Kid’, they’ve managed to carve out a distinctive sound all of their own that couldn’t be much further from the norm for most UK guitar-led combos if it tried.

Of course there is also a downside, and no doubt several knives are already being sharpened at the band’s lack of authenticity compared to the legendary blues musicians that obviously inspired them; even the band’s name is directly taken from a Blind Willie McTell song for instance. They’ve also aroused one or two suspicions of being manufactured due to the apparent fast tracking from unsigned college band to darlings of the music press under the stewardship of PJ Harvey associate John Parrish. However, if anyone has actually experienced Kill It Kid in the flesh, any notions that some form of prenuptial tampering has taken place beforehand would be dispelled almost immediately.

Make no mistake about it, Kill It Kid ooze a passion and sincerity that many of their more-feted contemporaries both here and overseas lack, and in dual vocalists Chris Turpin and Steph Ward, possess two of the most powerfully captivating voices Gigwise has heard in many a year. And yes, sorry to keep harking back to their tender years but the maturity displayed on such choice cuts as ‘Private Idaho’ and ‘Troubles Of Loretta’ make this band an even more potentially mouth-watering prospect in years to come.

While comparisons to the likes of Gomez and The White Stripes are unavoidable, the array of various forms of instrumentation coupled with segments of musicianship that border on the complicated elevate Kill It Kid into Arcade Fire territory, albeit from a lo-fi bluegrass perspective. Producer Ryan Hadlock, himself a veteran of making acts inspired by the past sound like visionaries of the future (The Strokes and The Gossip to name but two) once again provides the magic touch here, as ‘Kill It Kid’, for all its reference points to a bygone era, sounds incredibly “now”.

What differentiates ‘Kill It Kid’ from many records released this year is that it actually flows like an album is supposed to as opposed to a hastily assembled collection of random songs. Where this band fit in with the UK’s scene-and-genre obsessed musical demographic is open to interpretation, but as far as the present goes, ‘Kill It Kid’ feels like a breath of fresh air on a warm summer’s day.