ALBUM REVIEW: Kid Kapichi – Here’s What You Could Have Won


 

Fusing the punch of distorted guitar with funky drums and free-thinking lyrics, Hastings, UK-based quartet Kid Kapichi show off their distinctive ‘beat punk’ style with their new album Here’s What You Could Have Won (Spinefarm Records). The title represents opportunities certain groups miss out on due to poverty, discrimination, or mental health.

They don’t waste any time lyric-wise with the political first track ‘New England’ diving into xenophobia. Frontman Jack Wilson’s take on the working class blindly placing blame on immigrants makes for a compelling opener, especially when repeatedly asking the crucial question “Is it you can’t change, or that you won’t change?”

 

The band’s charm comes from unsugarcoated song themes with music that makes you want to dance your way through a nine-to-five shift – which brings us to the grooving ‘5 Days On (2 Days Off)’ that openly states how countless underpaid employees feel about their work’s lack of fulfillment. They deliver this all through earworm hooks and percussion that mimics a ticking clock.

 

To be honest, the first half of the album had me fooled into thinking Kid Kapichi was a one-trick pony of a limited vocal range over catchy radio rock beats. ‘Party at No.10’ was just the first of several surprises that came with the record’s second half, slowing it down with acoustic guitar and melancholic whistles. The dispirited mood returns for piano ballad ‘Never Really Had You’, digging even deeper into the band’s versatility.

Closing track ‘Special’ is a whole journey in and of itself that I was not expecting – it goes through rising levels of intensity for almost five minutes, like a calm before the storm that builds up gradually. The chorus starts with a cheeky “oh no” that sounds almost humorous while maintaining the overall serious tone. This combined with the assorted guitar effects and slow-burning outro lock it in as my favorite song off the album.

 

Kid Kapichi are definitely more than meets the eye (and ears) – at first listen, it may be easy for some to pass them off as a cheap rap-rock group. However, upon listening more closely to the honesty and relatability of the lyrics, many will be convinced to stick around longer to the point of involuntarily dancing to the instantly memorable beats, and subsequently discovering the tracks that branch the band’s sound out into several unforeseeable directions.

Buy the album here: https://www.kidkapichi.com/en-us

 

7 / 10

COLLEEN KANOWSKY