New.Strife.Lands
A Tant Rever du Roi, 2022
10/10
An incredibly original and creative outfit composed of Adrien Maillet (key lead, key bass, machine), Thomas Loureiro (drums, machine), Leopold Riou (guitar, vocals, bass) and Dany Boutin (guitar, vocals, bass), as Kitch the quartet birth an experimental and noisy version of indie, punk, alternative and electronic rock.
“Etambot” opens the listen, and waste little time making an impression with its ambient droning and wordless vocals, and “Anytime” continues the mysteriousness, which builds into a swift and charged post-punk exploration that’s quite exciting.
Further on, “Stolen Cage” is quite bare, a bit soulful, before abruptly shifting into a cautious version of busy alt-rock, while “Trippy” spends 6 minutes mesmerizing us with its bass acrobatics, firm drumming and playful vocal acrobatics.
Moving towards the end, “Absent Again” thunders with a nearly metallic approach that’s dense and easily the album’s best, and “Etrave” exits the listen much like how it started- with much atmosphere, a sci-fi buzzing and a healthy dose of calculated noise.
An often bristling effort that can retreat to calm, Kitch don’t easily fit into any classification, which is part of their allure, and this intense and meticulous 3rd album is nothing short of stunning.
Travels well with: Cosse- Nothing Belongs To Anything; Princess Thailand- And We Shine