KITE - VII Album Review
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The Scandinavian synth-wave duo composed of Nicklas Stenemo and Christian Hutchinson Berg aka Kite have gifted us with countless singles and EPs in the past 16 years, slowly moulding a genre and style of their own. As their seventh body of work and following on from the numbered series of EPs, "VII" is their first full-length studio album released by Dais Records. it collects a series of 7-inch singles released over the last half decade and it includes collaborations with Blanck Mass, Henric de la Cour, and Anna Von Hausswolff. With art-pop melodies, and a distinguished brand of cinematic darkwave, they have cemented their name in the hearts of fans across multiple music scenes. When people ask me to describe their style of music, or what bands do they compare to, I find it extremely challenging to come up with an accurate answer. Their strength flows from grandiose raw emotion that lifts them miles above being a stereotypical one genre act or "retro" act. Their strain of music is nostalgic without being revival, and futuristic without sounding cold or detached. Kite's wave function transcends time, aesthetics and genres. It's a multifaceted matrix locked in a love "simulacrum". The album opens with "Remember me", one of their most recent singles. This track is an ascending staircase to a pictorial and graphic dimension, but also a sonic reminder of their apocalyptic heights. Kite achieve dramatic crescendos through lyrical repetition and melodic loop chains. This piece of music definitely validates that formula. There is a strong "ritualistic" and spiritual aspect to Kite's music. This can be encountered in tracks like "Don't take the light away", a universal call to unity, love, and self-proclamation. It's a beautifully daunting hymn to freedom and a call to all dreamers. Nicklas's vocals have a distinct folk-like colour, which is one the elements that make this duo absolutely original and unique. The mood is elegant yet tribal, like operatic neo-folk in a moonlit darkwave soundscape. Demons & Shame is another track strongly connected to the "dreamers" concept. Shaped by an esoteric drum anthem and grieving bass drones, it boldly depicts the "elevated" condition of being a dreamer, while also confronting its ineradicable downsides. Four of the tracks were produced or co-produced with Benjamin John Power, best known as Scared Bones solo project BLANCK MASS. "Teenage Bliss", "Bowie 95", and "Hand Out The Drugs" are by far the most melodically youthful and accessible songs on the album, which could make one wonder: why a Blanck Mass production? The answer is in the end result, one of soaring contrasts and ravey droning atmospheres. It wouldn't be the first time an artist like Power shows his knack for emotionally dramatic productions or compositions. His album "Animated Violence Mild", masterfully displayed that side of him back in 2019. His productions have the anthemic power to give "universal" tones to any piece of music. All in all, I find this to be one of his most successful colabs. "Changing" is another vivid demonstration of the rip-roaring melancholy this pairing can bring. With a fierce rumbling backbone, this single is a spinning loop endlessly chasing its tail. Probably one of the most accomplished tracks in the album both musically and lyrically. If Gilles Deleuze was alive, he would probably describe it as one of the most "rhizomatic" works of the decade. It is, after all, a tragic ode to the complex network of human multiplicities and its forever changing nature. Self-produced by Kite with Daniel Fagerström, "Panic Music" is for me the top track of the album. By far one of their most immediate and introspective singles, it is all Kite represents: a frenetic blast of freedom breaking through the barriers of social and human paradoxes. The synths carry a harder glossier edge and there’s a renewed air of spiralling anxiety taking over the vocals. It's hard-hitting and disturbingly relatable. "Losing" comes alive with clean a cappella vocals and elegant sinister piano chords. Stenemo's singing perfectly mirrors Henric de la Cour's. As ethereal sounds and synthetic waves close in, Anna Von Hausswolff takes over this obscure dimension with her evocative and poignant singing. Another ingenious and formidable collaboration that I will no doubt be listening to on repeat. Kite’s sound has definitely got richer and more ambitious. They have created a mystic dreamland with shockingly high peaks of elation. Across its 70 minutes, ‘VII’ showcases glorious deliberate builds in arrangements and a very promising path forward. Tracklist: 1. Remember me Favourite track: Panic Music
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