Continuing the project of exploring some of the fantastic bands you could see if you’re lucky enough to be attending SXSW this month, today’s focus is the Danish band The Kissaway Trail. I’ve only heard one song from them, but that song is so good, I feel no compunctions about making a recommendation.
Smother + Evil = Hurt – The Kissaway Trail
The big news this week is Arcade Fire, with the much-anticipated release of Neon Bible tomorrow (my review is soon to come), and while I wouldn’t go so far as to declare this band “the next Arcade Fire,” it’s hard to listen to them and not make a comparison. This song is epic, heartbreaking, tender, and the vocals tear at your heart. They’ve got the soft/loud dynamic, the orchestral swells that never feel clichéd, and a coda that ratchets up the emotion to a whole new plane. It all adds up to something seriously impressive.
I would not be remotely surprised if they blew up in a serious way on the strength of a killer show at SXSW. My advice: jump on the bandwagon now so you can say you were a fan before they were big. If they’re unlikely to quite reach the heights of an Arcade Fire, I don’t think it’s remotely a stretch to say they could be the next Mercury Rev. Which is still pretty impressive.
I’ve been trying for most of the afternoon to get a hold of their self-titled record which this song is from, but to no avail. It’s currently out in Denmark, but won’t be released in the rest of the world until next month (and who knows how long it will take to get to the US). I managed to get into the Denmark iTunes store and listen to the clips form the songs which was enough to convince me that this could easily end up as one of my favorite records of 2007…assuming I ever manage to hear the whole thing.
Check out The Kissaway Trail’s SXSW page, see them Saturday, March 17 at 1:00 AM at Buffalo Billiards (201 E 6th St).