Toronto's Kiwi Jr. are a mounting force. Already with two considerable albums under their belt, their third Chopper gathers together all of their considerable promise, builds on it, gathers momentum and makes a masterful, cohesive statement. This may well be my Indie Rock album of the year.
It's almost impossible to mention this band without making at least some reference to Pavement who always have been and remain their guiding inspiration, so I might as well get this out of the way straight away.
Kiwi Jr, draw on the pop sensibility of Pavement first of all. I have to say that was always what I found most attractive about that band. Wry, twisted but beautiful imagery wedded to cool melodies that date beyond that band to the records of Felt and the splended Flying Nun roster of the Eighties.
But Chopper never bother themselves with the clever clever qualities that I always and still struggle with when listening to Pavement and particularly Malkmus. This is not a boastful record. It has a quiet confidence and sense of direction. Each song sounds better than the last, if you believe that to be possible.
Kiwi Jr. has a second trump to play. The songs that don't remind me of Pavement remind me of The Strokes instead and what a splendid new dawn it felt for me hearing the sound of The Modern Age at the turn of the century. The realisation thet New York CBGB's guitars were back, good and proper.
Chopper is a triumph pure and simple. It does nothing particularly new but also shows that you don't always have to in order to achieve something deeply thrilling.
No comments:
Post a Comment