There’s something about the name Kochka – perhaps it’s that it seems to mean nothing (apart from being Czech for “cat”) – that means that people have to make assumptions – in the way that you just know Chainsaw Bloodbath are unlikely to be supporting Daniel O’Donnell any time soon.
So does Kochka turn out to be some fairly anodyne no-hope indie band? Thankfully, in a word – no. ‘Cowards & Kings’ has the jiggy guitar of Vampire Weekend and a downright fine tune to boot, while ‘Dacha’ (hmm – a Russian second home?) – more than anything else, sounds like some Orange Juice tune I’ve forgotten the name of – though musically it diverts into noisier territory.
But the opening tracks are well worthy of further investigation – we should draw a veil over ‘Memory Box’, an odd bit of ska-jazz which confirms some of our preconceptions. ‘Black Cat’ — apart from its conformation of a feline interest – doesn’t add to much to the proceedings apart from rocking out a little, but Kochka have definitely got something on the strength of half of this EP.