Kitty, Daisy & Lewis - 'Going Up The Country'
Admission time: I volunteered to review this, having no prior knowledge of the band or the song, purely because I liked their name. I'm not really sure what I expected them to be like - I think probably some kind of achingly hip, attitude-laden electropop band like the Ting Tings - but I definitely didn't expect them to be a band of teenage siblings playing marvellously old-school countrified pop music. But proving that some of the best decisions in life are made entirely by accident: I love it.
The term "feelgood" gets bandied around quite a lot, and I'm as guilty of that as anyone else I can think of, but I don't think I've ever meant it quite as literally as I do now - about two thirds of the way through my first listen I was swaying on the spot and clapping my hands in time to the music and joining in the chorus with this ridiculously beatific grin on my face. I have my suspicions you could actually prescribe this song as an antidepressant.
Its brilliance lies in its simplicity: it's a '50s throwback with elements of swing and bluegrass and lots more besides thrown in, and best of all, there appears to be not one shred of irony here. I'm a bit loath to use the word authentic, because it's a word that's lost all meaning in terms of music criticism and usually gets lobbed admiringly at anyone carrying a guitar regardless of the quality of his or her music, but I really feel it's justified here; the authenticity of this song is all part of its charm. It's pleasingly lo-fi and rough around the edges.
It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, of course, and it's weird to describe something so unashamedly old-fashioned as original, but this is at least the most refreshingly different song I've had to review in ages, and I've got to hand it to anyone who can make me feel this excited about music again with one song.
Download: Out now
CD Released: July 7th
(Steve Perkins)
Comment number 1.
At 2nd Jul 2008, dferdog wrote:Do you realise it's a cover version of a song by Canned Heat, first released in the late 60's I think. Good cover mind.
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Comment number 2.
At 2nd Jul 2008, drc007 wrote:If you want to hear the Canned Heat version, look for their performance at Woodstock on youtube.
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Comment number 3.
At 2nd Jul 2008, Matthew wrote:Saw them play the late-night Club Dada at Glastonbury and they're incredibly talented. They can all sing and play more than one instrument.
As a singer and guitarist myself, Lewis's ability is something to behold and envy. He plays guitar like Chuck Berry, Piano like Jerry Lee Lewis and sings like a true 50s rock-and-roll star. Oh, and he's got the looks of Ralph Macchio.
The girls are great too - not sure which is which but one mainly sings but also drums, harmonica, guitar and ukulele. The other girl mainly drums but she's probably a master of numerous instruments too.
Only thing I'm not sure about is its value - is there a market for something that is 100% from another era? I'd suggest it's better than another pop group/artist peddling old cover version.
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Comment number 4.
At 2nd Jul 2008, Fraser McAlpine - wrote:What I would suggest is that the value of Kitty Daisy and Lewis rests not in their tender years, or the simple joy of their music, or their multi-instrumental talents, or their retro styling, or their choice of cover version (nice timing, by the way, given that the Canned Heat version is currently in an advert)...but in a combination of all of these things AND their dogged refusal to acknowledge the last 50 years of popular culture as anything other than a mistake.
That, plus we're WAY overdue a skiffle revival. Lonnie Donegan deserves some kind of posthumous award, surely...
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