So, any opinions on Kaito UK?
Kaito U.K.
Band Red
[SpinArt; 2003]
Rating: 7.8
The interplay between Kaito U.K. vocalist Nikki Colk and her three bandmates-- who collectively tease out hyper, occasionally erratic backbeats and loads of weird, crashing melodies-- is always playfully confrontational. Colk's nonsensical lyrics are more about their visceral, phonetic sounds than any potential narratives, and that kind of terse, internal tension can be both frustrating and exhilarating all at once. To amp up the semantic agitation, Colk's mumbled delivery is also been padded by a mess of extraneous yelps and growls that, while adding texture to her band's art-punk noisescapes, usually have little-to-no affiliation with the words she's hollering.
The result is Kaito U.K.'s sophomore effort, Band Red, a record full of disorientating (but mostly thrilling) bursts: Colk barks and warbles, each of her high-strung, shrieky proclamations practically indiscernible from Dave Lake's pinched guitar zaps. It's perpetually unclear as to whether the proper reaction is to patent a new, kicky dance move or to twitch and grimace, but that question's inherent to Kaito's game, and it's a big part of what makes this record so much fun to yap along with.
Opener "Enemyline" is full of energetic guitar jabbing and unintelligible vocals, Colt and Lake's joint poking augmented by what sounds like a layer of mixed-down screams; the song flip-flops between quiet and loud (as post-Pixies bands are prone to do), but even "Enemyline"'s sparser bits are heavy with the threat of total implosion. When Kaito U.K. slip away from their blustery noisemaking, like on the excellent, organ-filled "Nothin' New", they prove themselves capable of rolling out the kinds of foggy, wide-eyed laments that can sit perfectly alongside big punk blasts. Still, the band is at its best when indulging adrenaline: "A.S.A. to Accuracy" is the record's most aggressive track, with two vague, fuzzy guitar lines fighting for supremacy, blood splattering the amps.
What ultimately saves Band Red from been-there tedium (check the ground already covered by Liliput, Erase Errata, even Deerhoof) is Kaito U.K.'s instinctual bend toward sticky melodies-- their tendency to temper their noise with surprisingly sugary pop hooks and wormy choruses is what keeps these songs from becoming pretentious or tiresome. So even if jumpy, fitful art-punk isn't particularly groundbreaking right now, Kaito U.K. are still playing the shiny pop card with previously unseen flair-- no matter how delightfully splintered Band Red can seem, there are always solid tunes lurking beneath the spits and flutters.
-Amanda Petrusich, September 9th, 2003
