aaamusic | On 25, Mar 2012

North London’s Fighting Kites formed in their definitive 4-piece line-up in 2009. Their looping, layered, soulful art-rock waltzes won them the attention of promoters like Upset The Rhythm and Gravid Hands and they found themselves on bills in London, Belgium and Los Angeles with the likes of Male Bonding, Nisennenmondai, Shield Your Eyes, Ruins, Benjamin Shaw and Nitkowski. Their  snappy 2011 split EP with Broken Shoulder on the Audio Antihero label earned them their first BBC airplay from Gideon Coe and a heap of praise and acclaim from the Indie-Press…and 2012 brings the debut album.

 

What makes Fighting Kites hard to define is the absence of that which generally characterises modern instrumental rock music; the “quiet-loud” dynamic, “epic soundscapes” or bloated dissonance. FK create glorious Post-Rock-Noise-Pop, influenced by the instrumental hit parade of the 50s and 60s (The Shadows, Booker T & The MGs, Duane Eddy, Bar Kays) with a unique, infectious and often overwhelming beauty. Scattered layers of sound with melody reminiscent of ‘Rather Ripped’ period Sonic Youth, the warmth of ‘Rock Action’ Mogwai, the unconventional multi-instrumental artistry of alt. neoclassical artists like Lucky Dragons and a smattering of Pentangle plucking and Jazz-sax cacophony.

 

This is unpretentiously ambitious instrumental music and an awful lot more than just Easy Listening for hipsters.

 

Retail Link: www.fightingkites.bandcamp.com

+ iTunes / Amazon, etc.