Kira & the Kindred Spirits
s/t
Copenhagen Records
This Danish quartet is led by a talented female vocalist who is somewhere between Melissa Etheridge and PJ Harvey on the "gritty pipes" spectrum. She also reminds a bit of Sofia Hardig, a Swedish vocalist who mines similar brooding, guitar-based indie rock territory. There's an emotional edge to the 13 tunes here that's really gripping. "Turn around" is a particularly great song, with its artfully muted background ambience and intimate upfront vocals; when strings enter the mix subtly, the effect is spine-tingling. The single "Seldom lost" is a sharply arranged guitar rocker, and if you're the type that digs brooding mid-tempo indierock, you'll reach nirvana in tunes like "Frosty fingers", the kick-ass "Pressure" ("I put pressure on you to leave me be/I put presuure on anybody who'd prefer a smile"...lines that sum up Kira's aesthetic nicely), the bluesy jangler "Let it out", and the achingly lovely acoustic tunes "Sullen girl" and "I won a while". Serious attention seems to have been paid to the overall pacing of this album and the very potent rendering of both the vocals and the often fiery, '60s-influenced guitar work. It has paid off nicely; this is probably one of the sturdiest and most consistent Scandi-rock platters of the year.
- Kevin Renick