King Creosote - Flick The Vs
There are times when you get pleasantly surprised with a completely unexpected gem of an album and this was one of them said moments. I ashamedly was not looking forward to listening to the Scottish folk singer’s latest album, 'Flick the Vs' but that soon changed during the epic seven plus minutes opener No One Had It Better with its electro start, gentle singing with the drums and then the slow brewing with more instruments joining in for the ride.
One of the weaker songs, 'Two Frocks At A Wedding', was the second tune up and did start questioning whether the opener was a one off as this one is only saved by the keyboards preventing it from being a slow plodding song. Thankfully those fears were put to one side when 'Camels Swapped For Wives' followed. An angry song with very clever lyrics and included the odd swear word, which was completely unexpected at the start of the album. It is the sort of song that makes you just want to listen all the way just so you can hear what Kenny Anderson, King Creosote’s alter ego, has to say.
It is always nice to hear people sing with their accents too and Kenny Anderson does not attempt to hide his Fife accent at all. Far too many bands from all regions of these shores try to sound like they are from the other side of the Atlantic, never forget your roots and be yourself, as Mr Anderson demonstrates, works to great effect.
The mix of folk and electro continue with such pleasurable results, as do the fun lyrics with “Girl from the south, will she ever shut her mouth” on 'No Way She Exists' shows. Now whether he means south of UK or Scotland, I will leave up to you. The mix of instruments used also makes the album fresh through out and with the shortest song of the album being over three and a half minutes is some achievement. The last song, Saw Circular Prowess, rounds off the album perfectly with a mellow duet which touches the feelings and leaves you wanting so much more.