Albums

Album Review: Greg Kiss And The Feral Cats

[Album: Hope]
[Label: Unsigned]

Greg Kiss, most noted for his vocals and songwriting with Essex rockers 4ft Pimp, has brought us this, his first full-length, with the help of his Feral Cats backing band. His previous effort was an EP which comprised previously unreleased tracks aswell as an old 4ft Pimp favourite, but this is, apparently, all new material.

‘Little Brown Envelopes’ lopes with a menacing, walking guitar riff which brightens when it rises out of the verse to bring us a finger-clicking rock track. Greg’s scorched vocal pierces above it all bringing to mind Icicle Works’ Ian McNabb, but there’s also a Cat Stevens vibrato somewhere in there aswell. ‘This Time’ sees Charley Bird join in on vocals and she brings a touch of class to proceedings - her haunting, lilting voice allows the track to soar. Greg’s back-up is perhaps too harsh when placed alongside it but the soft country acoustic guitar and vibrant clarinet help to ease over the cracks.

Many of the tracks rely on acoustic guitars which lends an uncomplicated feel to the album leaving it uncluttered and accessible. Unfortunately this also leaves the songwriting bare and much of the time there’s the sense that things have been chopped short, almost as if a bridge or middle eight wouldn’t quite fit, resulting in a disconcerting abruptness. At least, when the electrics kick in the rhythm allows the composition a more comfortable passage and each song finds its way to a satisfactory finish.

‘25 Hours/Day’ steams along at a fine pace but then seems happy to dip out into an excellent spot of respite as Greg’s lyrics produce the superlative line “the haggard sun looks woebegone but I’ll put up if I must.” ‘My Poor, Sad Fickle Heart’ shimmies confidently into its bluesy chorus, before finding a quick-fire latino section that shines. The title-track is a weak and confused end for the album but there’s much on offer here to demand repeated plays for those seeking a gentile, warming album of acoustic rock.

For fans of: Icicle Works, Cat Stevens, Neil Young
Band link = Greg Kiss

John’s review also appears on Music-Zine.

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