Kill Devil Hills - Kill Devil Hills Ep

  by Emma Haigh

published: 17 / 5 / 2005

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Review

Given such an illustrious history of their namesake, London-based Kill Devil Hills have a lot to live up to. The Kill Devil Hills were the backdrop for the first successful flight by the Wright brothers back in 1903, a pretty impressive feat to name yourself after, and when you don't quite manage it, it's a none-too-pretty crashing letdown. The 'Kill Devil Hills' EP reminds me an awful lot of The Izzys, or The Departure, two bands I want to like, but can't always quite muster the energy to, which is analogous to their sound: they could have made the effort, but not quite. While The Izzys do slowly grow on you, tapping away at the back of your mind, Kill Devil Hills are more likely to send you to sleep. They're too tightly reined in, too lacking in cleverness and sincerity to make their off-the-cuff cynicism believable, and detrimentally, unlike their namesake, too unwilling to let go. In all wretched honesty, the weak retro-rock of 'Shoestring' falls flat after the first Big Loud Chorus/tiny soft verse, while, opener, 'Autograph' is a vague bland attempt at cleverness that flutters half-heartedly and dies. The real shame of it is that they're probably a great live band. It just didn't translate.

Track Listing:-