Back then, I had a real hunger for 50s/Motown-influenced tunes and KDL's rockabilly stylings definitely ticked that box.
For example, listen to Honolulu Rock'n'Roll: yes, it's higher tempo than the original but it sounds to these modern ears as if it's dripping with the 1950s.
Which was made all the more extraordinary when you realised they were teenagers, and young teenagers at that.
I think their youth and the fact that they were siblings helped KDL capture the media's imagination (though that would have happened eventually given the strength of their music then as shown by Mean Son of a Gun )
And maybe, just maybe, this has seen them treated in the UK as a bit of a gimmick band.
A crying shame given their clear talent.
Last month I stumbled across I'm So Sorry, a single from March just gone. There's a melancholic edge. It's still refreshingly old-fashioned but more mature and ska-tinged.
And the video's an absolute joy. (Certainly at least one German music channel agrees with me as they had it on heavy rotation.)
In all honesty, they're possibly too niche to become huge.
But they need to be appreciated by a wider audience and maybe just maybe this is starting to happen. They certainly deserve it.
No comments:
Post a Comment