Keith
'Hold That Gun'
(Lucky010)
Released:19.02.07
Following
a busy end to 2006 (winning Channel
4’s ‘Road To V’ competition, collaborating
with Lily Allen on her ubiquitous debut album, & touring nationally
to raucous shouts of ‘encore’ with singer-songwriter, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly) there’s huge optimism for Keith as they
enter 2007 with the 3rd single
release from their ambitious & acclaimed
debut album Red
Thread.
When
the demo of ‘Hold That Gun’ won Zane Lowe’s
Fresh Meat competition early 2005, a questionably
named ‘Scally’ sent in a message to say ‘listening to Keith was like waking on Monday morning & actually wanting
to get up & out of bed.’ Now, having been completely re-recorded,
it’s official single release has lost
none of the original demo’s charm and
returns as an even stronger, more anthemic,
attitudinal ‘fuck
you’ to the apathy of acceptance and
homogeneity that runs through pop music
culture. “Take
me beyond this hole, resist the followers’
world” Keith protest. “Where is your ambition?” they rightly question, & emphatically
urge their belief, “take your chances modern mortals to command
success.” It’s all delivered with
a quality that could lull you into a blissful
happiness & then knife you with the
sweetest of smiles.
For
their growing legion of fans, it’s backed
by brand new track, ‘No Solemn Quest’, further showcasing the expansive sound that separates
them from the pack. If these tunes don’t
make you shake your tail feather, or at
the very least nod your head, then we’d
advise that you take your ears back to
your delivery room and ask the NHS for
a full and immediate refund.
A
quick synopsis for those still not in
the know, Keith are like Radiohead at
their funkiest down the local disco with
the omni-observant Morrissey buying tofu-scratchings
at the bar. Some say the UK quartet are
a poignant package of sophisticated indie-dance
for today’s musical intelligencia or,
as we like to think, Keith are simply
a brilliant band for people who just want
to think, feel, love, move and groove
to the best kind of music.
With
all this, it’s no surprise that both critical
and fan acclaim has further grown. With
props-a-plenty from former Smiths’ turned XFM DJs Mike Joyce and Andy
Rourke, playing live for honorary
rock & pop Mancunian Mani’s ‘Manic Mondays’, whilst being heard
by a million plus audience for ’96.2 The
Revolution FM’, things are going from
strength to strength. Just ask one of
the 50,000 Keith performed to at Japan’s
Summersonic Festival, one of the 10,000
swiftly purchasing their album, or Tokyo’s
‘Inter FM’ listeners when Keith topped
their radio playlist (leaving Timberlake
at 4 & Scissor Sisters at 8). Having
been asked back to go and play the huge
‘British Anthems’ Tour with Ordinary Boys
and The View, it all reminds you just
how good the Japanese are at this seeing
into the future malarkey.
And
to top it all off, at this year’s ‘In
The City’ music industry conference,
Keith were visited in rehearsal by A&R
legend / SIRE Records founder Seymour
Stein, a.k.a. the man who found The Ramones,
Talking Heads, The Pretenders, and the
slightly successful Madonna, and is “widely
regarded as having the best ears in the
business.” (All
Music Guide) He was so impressed with the strength
of their new writing, that he took a ride
in their tour van back to Manchester city
centre. So clear a makeshift dance floor
in the office, and crank up the stereo
– there’s no doubt that ‘Hold That Gun’
is a modern crossover classic.
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