Kid Canaveral
Shouting at Wildlife (Straight To Video)
Like the old adage that you’re never further than six feet from a rat in a major city, the feeling with this debut from the St Andrews-formed act is that you are never more than 30 seconds from a hook. Taking the best principles of pop-punk – pogo-friendly rhythms, catchy choruses and at-times frantic instrumental interplay – the four-piece put singalong, instantly memorable tunes at the core of their sound.
Recent single ‘Good Morning’ opens proceedings and is demonstrates precisely, why KC should exist – it’s 3 minutes of perky pop completely in the vein of classic punk-popsters like the Undertones, the kind of thing that makes you want to pogo around your room, or bound down the street grinning like an idiot at anyone that passes.
And that’s not all. ‘You Only Went Out To Get Drunk Last Night follows’ and is, in truth an odd number, mainly because it sounds like it’s two unrelated tunes bolted together – a big “La la la” chorus, and a verse which again recalls classic new wave songwriting, without recalling anyone specific to mind.
Dave writes and sings much of the album, but there’s the odd interlude from one of the lassies in the band who make strummy, slightly folky and sweetly sung tunes like ‘Quiet Things’ – a perfect pause before we jump into the big hooks and choruses of ‘On Occasion’ and the almost frantic ‘Talk and Talk’ and another massive tune in ‘Couldn’t Dance’.
‘Smash Hits’ is perhaps their finest moment, and it’s their signature tune in a sense – if there was any justice in the bad old pop world then this album would be just that.
Donald Bush
