Let’s face it, the electronic scene is very saturated. For every Depeche Mode colossus, you have seven-and-a-half MGMT sound alikes that wouldn’t know a Moog if it gave them a hickey in a free-fall elevator (which would probably make a nice sound, I must admit). So there was a certain degree of trepidation when I first turned up the volume on the debut E.P. from Kid Savant, Drop It on the Stereo.
Then the opening wave of vocals smoothed over me. It was a glorious stream of chocolate in my ears (an altogether comfortable feeling), that lasted for just enough time without leaving a sickly taste. “NaNa Never Ends” would not be out of place in any mainstream dance club; the catchy lines and shoulder-popping beats are just delectable and the entire piece has “HIT” written all over it.
“What It’s Worth” is another catchy little number, that runs in a similar vein to “NaNa…”, but doesn’t allow itself to become an extension – a part two that isn’t necessary. Fundamentally it pulls itself apart from the rest of the E.P and becomes its own entity, with the stilted vocals and roughshod drumming; it really makes the song close to heavenly. Definitely my favourite track of the five.
The eponymous track has a strange opening that makes me feel like I’m playing Final Fantasy VII and I’ve got to a part where two of the characters have a neat little heart-to-heart, leaving me bashing the buttons in order to make the dialogue progress faster. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice and all, but there’s really something missing from this and I can’t quite grasp what needs to be put in to make it better. Perhaps it’s because the first two tracks are so interstellar of terms of their catchiness, that this just falls flat on its face with a marginal amount of dignity.
Penultimate symphony, “4 Years”, brings the Brooklyn four-piece back up to a better level. But only by a little bit. There are very similar elements of “Drop It on the Stereo” that appear here as well, which is possibly a warning to the group that they are – perhaps – not particularly well-suited to making slower, more downbeat tracks.
And so, the end comes with “Walt”. A nice piano plonking intro, direct from the 1990′s, eases us into a more rocky sound that doesn’t sound too dissimilar to Glasgow art rockers Franz Ferdinand. The level is raised again and the song is a nice finish to Kid Savant’s initial extended player, a myriad a clashing drums, challenging vocals and tumultuous beats.
The high points outweigh the lows, most definitely. But, perhaps more of a focus on the uptempo and the caustic will serve the quartet better on their next outing, which I’m sure will have its fair share of party-anthems-in-the-making.
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