Kindness Kind - The Kindness Kind

by Mark Rowland

published: 3 / 3 / 2009

Label: Don't Be a Lout Music
Format: CD

Solid indie pop on new mini-album from Seattle-based arty rockers, the Kindness Kind

Review

Seattle’s the Kindness Kind do indie pop in the style of Rilo Kiley, with their mix of slightly arty guitars and keys and Alessandra Rose’s melodramatic vocals. There are also hints of a less surreal Regina Spektor, a less country-influenced Band of Horses, Metric’s quieter moments and the sadly defunct Pretty Girls Make Graves. ‘The Kindness Kind’ is their second release, but with only seven shortish tracks, it ‘s hard to consider it a follow-up album – their first, ‘A Novel’, offered 12 – but as a taster between the last album and the next, it’s pretty good. ‘Beautiful Souls’ is a sweeping indie rock song, with a catchy verse and a soaring chorus. It’s a strong start to an album that doesn’t offer a groundbreaking sound, but does serve up some very solid tunes. ‘The Lusk Letter’ tones things down a notch, with a melody that is vaguely reminiscent of the Cure’s more subdued (though not dirgy) moments. ‘SuckerPunch’ has some lovely, jazz-inflected guitar work that vaguely brings to mind Jeff Buckley. ‘Houndstooth’ is easily the most like Rilo Kiley on the EP, though it offers a strong melody. ‘A New Sense’ is a surprise on the album, upping the interesting levels considerably. Kicking in with a jutting piano riff and guitar noise, it hits the staccato guitars of the verse. This stomps into a chorus that features what is essentially a heavy metal riff – it just happens to be driven by piano rather than guitar (though there is plenty of guitar noise in their too). It’s unexpected and could easily have fallen flat on its face, but the disparate elements all work pretty well together. The kindness Kind should keep taking risks like that – it will give them an edge that some of their peers sorely lack.