Having been fortunate to see This Is The Kit’s outstanding show at the Green Door Store early 2015, I have been bubbling with excitement to get my hands on their new album. This Is The Kit are the folk rock project of Kate Staples and have been active from 2003. Splitting her time between living in Bristol and Paris they only released their debut album (Krulle Bol) in 2008. Now with her third album, Kate surrounded herself with an assortment of musical mates including Rozi Plain, Matt Barrick (The Walkman), Thomas Bartlett (Doverman, The Gloaming), Benjamin Lanz (Beirut, The National), Bryce Dessner (The National) – as well as getting a helping hand from prolific producer Aaron Dessner from The National. With a lot of anticipation surrounding Bashed Out, is This Is The Kit’s breakthrough album?
The sparseness of the opener ‘Misunderstanding’ gives you an instant feel for the album’s tone, with its aching light electric guitar and delicate drums. It moves seamlessly into ‘Silver John’, the first single taken from Bashed Out. A flowing accordion thickens and follows the gentle piano and guitar melody. Its tranquil and comforting feel contradicts its uneasy meaning – contemplating the way humans are and how we perceive things (“you apocalypse on us, yes / lets get used to dark, get used to wet / Hear them panicking, shouting out / We’re not ready yet!”). The galloping beat of the mystical ‘Magic Spell’ really stood out when played live. The jangling guitars and swirling synths makes it sound like it should be the backing to a traveling montage. It is a well-constructed and written song with a clever chorus, making the track one of my favourites so far.
The first song made public from the album was the title track, an outright beautiful song. This ode to past hardship will send shivers down the spine of any the listener with the gloomy atmosphere it emits. Strong lyrics are a highlight of the album and it is perfectly demonstrated in this track (“Blessed are those who see and are silent”). Dreamy guitar sounds on ‘Vitamins’ preaches the secrets to the pleasures of a simple life – just visit the sea, eat your greens and a place to live be “all we need”. The album ends with the triumphant ‘Cold And Got Colder’. The music builds around Kates calming voice in typical fashion into an affirming crescendo, but you do feel the song could have carried on much long. Unfortunately it finishes rather abruptly and consequently a somewhat underwhelming final song.
Bashed Out is full of thought provoking songs, questioning us as humans. Its smart songwritng, keeps your interest throughout, being an extremely delicate and mesmerising listen. It doesn’t quite hit the same unrelenting quality of say Sharon Van Etten’s Tramps, also produced by Aaron Dessner, but it is still a very special folk album from This Is The Kit with some truly phenomenal songs.
Iain Lauder