Indie-folk
For legendary Buggles-producer extraordinaire Trevor Horn to claim that your latest album contains songs that are, “so good that they they remind him why he initially got into the business,” this heavy-handed compliment could be deemed a burden of pressure for most artists. Mind you, Horn is also producing Robbie Williams' latest album 'Reality Killed The Video Star, and if his water mark is anything like Williams' last offering, the monumental flop 'Rudebox', then Kid Harpoon can afford to relax a little.
With the potential weight of expectations, it would seem that Kid Harpoon's (aka. Tom Hull) batch of a dozen folkie tunes could only disappoint; joyous album opener 'Stealing Cars' does its best to counter this presumption, a catchy, up-tempo paean to the joys of lost youth and the reckless abandon that two young lovers can incite within each other. In addition to his infectious melodies and inventive arrangements, Kid Harpoon's USP is the truly heartfelt lyrics strewn amongst his songs, words and rhymes that tap into our subconscious and unite every listener in our common feelings about life, love and death.
With any artist who cuts themselves open to bleed all over their song writing pages, there are going to be moments of the insufferably twee, such as the nursery-level lyrics of 'Colours', “Red is the colour of the heart that I love you with, that I draw for you every time I see you,” yet these are far outweighed by instances such as the beautifully arcane middle-eight of 'Buried Alive', “We were sold a matchstick lie, and it's burnt me alive, now it's time to go back.” Buried in the middle of the record, hides one of the album's true gems, 'Burnt Down House', a soaring acoustic ballad with a sing-a-long melody disguising truly beautiful yet disturbing lyrics; this segues perfectly on to the deceptively upbeat 'Flowers By The Shore', a song who's metaphorical lyrics warn of Kid's plans to find his estranged lover, as he packs, “shotguns and rifles, I left my flowers by the shore.”
Catering for everybody's indie-folk needs, 'Once' provides both heart-rendering ballads, and quirky foot stompers such as the gleefully exuberant 'Marianna', a song that could be played to any audience and still elicit the same smiling, toe-tapping response. It is doubtful that the songs on the album would coax many other world-renowned producers away from looming retirement, yet as Horn said in a recent interview, “You soon discover that the things money brings aren’t important; people need to work.”
Well, it is doubtful that either Harpoon or Horn are counting on retiring on 'Once's' album sales, what with the acoustic/indie/folk/rock genre being a fairly niche market, not known for its affluence, so perhaps another partnership could be on the cards for Kid's next album? Or perhaps a chance meeting of the three will lead to a Robbie-led supergroup? Watch your back, Barlow...