The Kissaway Trail - The Kissaway Trail

When I first heard the name of this band mentioned on radio, I laughed. It probably wasn’t helped by the fact that the song I had just heard was called ‘Smother + Evil = Hurt’. There’s no avoiding it, English is not The Kissaway Trail’s biggest strength. Horrible word choice and unorthodox pronunciation are just part and parcel of this. But being from Denmark, I’m willing to let it slide (especially since they make some excellent music). Like many of their Danish counterparts, they seem to have knack for writing songs that are emotionally powerful. While they may not have the mind-blowing climaxes of Mew, they know how to make music that builds in intensity and really draws the listener in. This is of course aided by the band’s great vocal work. It really shines on the slower songs, which helps to keep the album interesting the whole way through. It took me a while to start taking these guys seriously, but after giving their album a thorough listen, I’m beginning to see it as one of the year’s most impressive debut releases.

La La Song – Just when you thought track names couldn’t get any worse, this song arrives. It is probably the album’s most accomplished piece and is full of fist-pumping moments.

Tracy – I can’t put my finger on what makes me like this song, but it always stands out. It has quite an usual structure, shunning all verse / chorus conventions and just portraying a simple message.

Released: 01/07 | Aus: 04/07 | Website | Myspace

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

They're from Odense, same as HC Andersen. May explain it. Mew are from out in the sticks. Explains a lot.

I live in Århus. Though I come from England. That would explain the cynicism.

TKT are doing the Spot Festival here in Århus and VoxHall in September (a great venue), will check them out (just stick a .dk at the end of those two).

Anonymous said...

What strikes me about these guys (really dig the second song btw) is that they're not melancholy at all.

Most Danish bands I know (kashmir and efterklang are two worth chasing up) are all about teh melancholy. These guys sound like they've been hanging out in NY or London for a while (but maybe that's Copenhagen these days.)

saturdaysinbed said...

i love this band's vocals. my favourite song is probably Soul Assassins. but the whole album is definately one of the most refreshing and beautiful ones i've discovered this year, especially for a debut.