Photo Credit: Alice Denny & Kamila Cwiklinska
Kid Kapichi have spent the last few years building up a ferocious live reputation. The Hastings heavyweights have already shared stages with the likes of Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Slaves, and Fidlar before their debut was even announced. Gaining support from the likes of BBC Radio One’s Jack Saunders, MTV, and a feature in NME implies the group is destined for big things. However, does their debut LP This Time Next Year justify the hype the band have created? Here’s what we think.
From the very first track, First World Goblin, the different tones the group get with their instruments is there for all to see, and it’s highlighted especially with the fuzzy toned guitar laid out in this opener. The track emphasises what Kid Kapichi are all about – catchy riffs and the kind of choruses that make you want to shove your way into a raucous pit. There is a lot going on in this particular track, which does occasionally make singer/guitarist’s Jack Wilson and Ben Beetham’s vocals difficult to decipher. Although in spite of this, the production is consistent throughout the self-produced LP, with every member having their boisterous personalities decorated onto the canvas.
The star track of the album is undoubtedly the working-class anthem Working Man’s Town, which reveals Kid Kapichi at their very finest. Beetham’s delicious riff that carries the track will have you playing an air guitar like your life depends on it. The song illustrates an unapologetically punk verse followed by an anthemic chorus that could easily soundtrack a revolution. Tongue-in-cheek lyrics of “she sells seashells by the seashore until they took her f*****g house and now she don’t no more” display a brutal, albeit slightly comical, way of describing people getting evicted from their homes.
One thing the band does really well is balance impenitent heaviness with melodic choruses that will stick to your head like superglue. This is a winning formula for songs like Glitterati and Fomo Sapiens, but songs like Dotted Line and Don’t Kiss Me (I’m Infected) just feel like the group are regurgitating the same recipe to the point where it’s nice, but starting to get a bit bland.
The joint vocals of Wilson and Beetham don’t vary a lot or show much real vocal ability, but they don’t really need to in all honesty. It is impossible to not make complimentary comparisons to modern punks Isaac Holman (Slaves) and Joe Talbot (IDLES) in the way the singers’ deliver pure rage – you can’t just not listen to what they have got to say. The controversial track Violence (which depicts the idea of if the police can use violence, why can’t we?) or the fighting back against society anthem Thugs are picture-perfect examples of the merciless vocal technique the duo employ.
There is not a whole load of experimentation in the album. The sensitive closer Hope’s A Never Ending Funeral is the only track that really stands out as being distinct from the other songs in terms of instrumentation. Although saying that, the vast majority of the record is still very enjoyable, but it is hard to deny that it does feel like a collection of singles rather than an album at times, but after all, singles are what sells.
This Time Next Year is a lot of fun to listen to. It has entertaining and fascinating lyrical content which will often depict reality and be relatable for a lot of working-class people. The in-your-face nature of riffs in tracks like What Would Your Mother Say would make any Kid Kapichi gig feel like you’re on an overcrowded bouncy castle – which we’d imagine to be very fun. Overall, the Hastings rockers provide more a pop twist on a post-punk genre, where a breath of fresh air such as Kid Kapichi would certainly not be unwelcomed.
7.5/10
Standout Tracks: Working Man’s Town, Self Saboteur, Glitterati
For Fans Of: Slaves, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, RAT BOY
Written by: Joe Loughran
