 | Kid, You'll Move Mountains |
This is the debut CD from Kid, You’ll Move Mountains, a band hailing from just west of Chicago in Geneva, IL. The band is comprised of ex-members of Troubled Hubble, and they have been out doing some shows around the Chicago area. Got this album a little bit ago, and despite not really knowing what to expect one way or another I am really digging this one and I think these guys are really onto something here.
The sound is kind of an old school sound to me, kind of in the same way that Lemuria was, though not quite as ‘alternative rock’ here. Very well done instrumentation, with the songs really taking their time getting from A to B, but the journey is really the good part here. It is slightly poppy at times but also edgy enough when it has to be. These guys really do have a great sense of harmony though because no note sounds out of place here and it all fits together like Jenga or something. The piano and guitar play off each other well. The other similarity here is this band has the constant female/male vocal interplay between Jim Hanke and Nina Lanthrum. It is often done in a very cool way and really adds a sweet edge to a lot of the songs.
“Inside Voice” is an alright starter to the record, but the highlights start with the second track “Volts” which really starts the slow groove, male/female vocal back and forth that really shine on the album. Again, this is not reinventing the wheel, but just doing what they do really well. “Make It Sing” is also a great song, with both this song and “Volts” having really cool bridges with a driving rhythm and sweet vocal harmonies laid out over it, leading into a rock out chorus. “I’m A Song From The Sixties” is a cool detour from the general path of the first few songs, giving a different kind of funky-ish intro before heading into another nice bridge. Not sure how ‘sixties’ it actually sounds, but it is a good one. “West” is a very 80s/90s pop-rock kind of song with piano leading the way from the word go. The cool thing is that you really don’t hear songs like this anymore. Think something like 10,000 Maniacs here, this is where it strays into that kind of territory. Well done. “New Blood” is a solid rocker, as is “Wives Tale”. “An Open Letter To Wherever You’re From” is also a rocker with a driving bass line, with a few rock out moments thrown in for good measure. “No Applause” is a spacey, meandering closer to the album that works really well and kind of has elements of all of the songs preceding it, but manages to really shine and ends the album on a high note. I have had it on repeat for a bit here and for some reason I just really dig this song, the outro is good stuff.
Unfortunately I didn’t really get to see anything from these guys before I left Chicago, as I always love checking out the Chicago bands because there is such a good scene there. Anyway, this album is a great start here for this band and hopefully people will sit up and start taking notice so these guys can get out there and tour it up. Usually with a debut album a band can sound a little raw, but here this album is 100% fine tuned and polished, way more than most bands starting up, and it is impressive. It strays that line between heartfelt sincerity and epic-ness that can be a tough road to travel, but they do it very well. I highly recommend checking this album out, it is available now through their online store and website with availability on itunes, amazon and such soon.
