Keith
'Hold That Gun e.p'
(Lucky001)
Released:16.05.05
Hold
That Gun
'Take
me beyond this hole, resist the Followers' world'. This is Keith's call to arms,
a passionate statement of their intent not to
follow fashions or do what is expected; rather
it's an expression of their sometimes-isolated
individuality.
Many
have compared Oli's vocal to Manchester's' favoured
poet Morrissey but, as is the
way with Keith, any influence is not borne of
intent, rather absorbed in the ether of their
kaleidoscopic love of music. It's not unfair
to say that Oli Bayston has a voice more powerful
than the former Smiths frontman,
and this tunes affinity with an anthem like 'What difference does it make?' comes
from its passionate individualism, both lyrically
and sonically.
Faces
Written
in the studio with Keith's sonic architectural
sidekick James Ford, this tune
offers layer upon layer of psyche-laced harmonies
and chiming guitar picking alongside Johnny's
intricate, sometimes tribal, drums which overall
create an awesome wall of tuneful sounds.
Mona
Lisa's Child
Always
the rousing finale in Keith's live set, where
crowd surfing and Bez style
activists come to the fore, this offers another
very unique Keith song-writing slant. Essentially
a very brooding dissection of a relationship
breakdown, the song throws anger, desperation
and love into the pot with a cascade of droning
effects, an awesome groove and then from no-where
the most audaciously catchy piano solo that
wouldn't be out of place on a dirty groove from
the birth of House music.
Bled
a Rose
This
was probably the earliest tune written by the
band when they were working on their music production
course in Manchester (via Warrington). Engineered
by a friend of the band, George Atkins,
and written by guitarist Mark Nicholls - this
tune has a beautiful melodic quality that is
at the heart of Keith's music and shows that
quality is indeed the essence of what the band
are about. The sort of tune that Paul
Weller may have written under the influence
of his 'English Rose' muse. |
