Laid
back West Coast jangle, harmony, and good, good vibes courtesy of
Cumbrian soft-country psychers.
As I write this we're
at the tail-end of one of the wettest years on record. As welcome as
an SAD lamp then comes this debut album from Kontiki Suite. A bumper
thirteen tracks of Byrdsian jangle, late '60s folk-rock vocal harmony
and West Coast haze. The last couple of weeks listening to this CD
has saved me a fortune on tanning salon fees. The band's trademark
sound harks back to a golden era Californian folk-rock when bands
such as The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield ruled the roost, melodic
country-ish songs over a soothing bed of strummed acoustic guitars,
topped off by a shimmer of twelve-string electric arpeggios and
subtle slide playing.
It's surprising to
learn that the band weren't in fact formed on Sunset Strip in 1966,
they actually hail from the decidedly less sunny English Lake
District. For all the California dreaming the band's North-West roots
are laid bare on the opening track 'Down By The Lake' where vocalist
Ben Singh sings of his desire for domestic bliss aside “the lake.”
A simple enough wish no doubt hampered by second homers pushing up
house prices.
Conversely on
'Hollywood' Singh expresses a yearning to move in the exalted rock
royalty circles of LA. Whether you prefer the Lake District or Laurel
Canyon it's clear he has an undeniable ability of for writing strong
songs, which the band tastefully flesh out. Dropping a couple of the
less successful tracks might have made for a stronger, more coherent
album, but there are some genuinely sublime tracks here – 'Magic
Carpet Ride' is as much a modern day folk-rock gem as its title
suggests, and 'Watching Over Me' would have happily graced an album
from the Byrds' mid '60s purple patch. So if you fancy a little bit
of winter sun without using your passport this is well worth checking
out.
