Kasms : 'Spayed'
Kasms are a band who can spell their name how they jolly well like, as far as I’m concerned. Who’d have thought a four piece so relatively petite in stature could have gained a reputation for “intense and brutal” live performances, often involving set-to’s with photographers and the like? I think I’ll pass on the live review. But reputation can only get you so far if it’s based purely on all things non-musical and so the very fact that Kasms release their debut album ‘Spayed’ on May 11th through aptly titled Trouble Records is suggestive of the fact that their music is well worth a listen.
The record starts with ‘Male Bonding’, and it’s very much a tempo setter – fast, furious and as sing along as Kasms can possibly be. It’s a well-positioned, straight-forward number, a set opener in every sense and I must say a pleasantly surprising start to an album I didn’t dare switch on. Why? You ask, well I must admit that if a press release is trying to get me to listen to a CD, it should omit the words Deathrock and Shriekbeat – alas I had no choice but to listen in this case. Assumptions and preconceptions aside though this has some substance, a strong melodic spine and is far from the hell-for-leather shout-fest I had wrongly prepared for. Enlightening? Maybe, we’ll see what the rest of the record offers.
‘Insects’ follows and it’s again angst-filled, vocalist Rachel Mary Callaghan performing her role with due skill and theatrical understanding – the delivery is in seemingly constant transition, she works her voice around the words to supplement the music and it probably makes the bands biggest strength in terms of recording, that their vocalist has total control and style. She’s a looker too, not that I’d dare ask if I could buy her a lemonade.
‘Taxidermy’ kind of speaks for itself. This is more what I’d have expected Kasms to sound like; a weighty bass-lead melody and crashing cymbals all around, but you can’t ignore the pop style chorus again. In all the reviewing I’ve now done for this website it becomes more obvious to me the importance of pop across all genre’s – it’s like if you’re to become a master of your chosen corner you need to pay homage and respect to the over-ruling field that corner lies within; and it’s usually good old fashioned pop. Appropriate then that one of these folks is called Scott Walker. Born to be a pop star, that man.
Title track ‘Spayed’ follows and this is the first sign that they can be scary. Please, I beg you not to fall asleep with this record on – your dreams will be all headless goblins and blood-sucking spiders, and you’ll wake up in a cold sweat of utter fear. I’m really not joking. But, again, you guessed it, Kasms slow it down mid song to deliver another classy chorus, they really know how to write them and better still how to deliver them, unafraid are they to forgo the speed typical of songs that usually dominate this particular brand of music. It’s clever, it works, and it might just be the key to the door as far as Kasms are concerned – a debut charting of 12 with their limited edition single is certainly an indication that they might surpass even perhaps their own expectations.
‘K R I H’ is yet another sub-three-minute number that relies heavily on the distinctive voice of Callaghan, perhaps more so than its predecessors as her vocal shines on this one. The type of song that live is surely fantastic, but that doesn’t mean I’m about to go back on what I said at the top. No way, no, and never.
‘Don’t hit the bottom’ sees Kasms branch beyond the aforementioned three minute barrier with mixed success. This song is a weak point for me; it feels drawn out and robs the band of the fluency that encapsulates the first five tracks of this most promising album. Indeed this song signals what I can describe only as a mid-album lull, in my opinion ‘Bone You’, ‘Trenchfoot’ and ‘Siren Sister’ don’t accent the bands strength like those before them. Shame really, those three titles really caught my eye when I turned over the sleeve earlier. That’s not to say they don’t offer promise – ‘Trenchfoot’ in particular has a strong melodic element and the drums are superbly done, but it stutters, as does ‘Bone You’ which by contrast lacks the hooks that hold down the better songs on the album. ‘Siren Sister’ is plain and simple a song I didn’t like for reasons I find hard to cite – poor form on my part, but sometimes you just get that feeling.
But before this fiery four piece hunt me down to feast on my carcass (I’m really getting into this Deathrock thing aren’t I?); the last three songs more than make up for their compatriots relative failings. ‘Mackerel Sky’ might be the worst title, but it’s just about the best song, two minutes of drama and a chance for the guitar riffs to stand and deliver, which they really do. This song has a hint of late 60’s psychedelica about it, along with a hint of the lo-fi Bauhaus alluded to in the previews. Bauhaus are a band I adore and it’s nice to hear some of their more subtle skills mirrored in this song.
‘Toil + Trouble’ is of similar ilk, the drums and guitar opening the song up and providing platform. Again it’s a strong song, one of the strongest, the drums this time the real key to its success as their unrelenting, pounding beat seamlessly leads the way to a simple chorus, the sort that will be remembered by many.
And last but by no means least comes ‘Murmer’, a fine closer to a fine debut. Only the second song to pass the three minute mark, this one doesn’t feel at all stretched. It feels confident, arrogant maybe, and acts as Kasms farewell, their ‘come back soon’. Callaghan takes on the opportunity to scream out the vocals for the last time with exuberance and a great pitch, rising just above the musical background to front-up another very good song – I’d like to see this one released as a single, not that it’s any of my business.
All in all this album was a total surprise – a good one at that. Kasms have adopted the finer points of many a genre and many a band gone by to create a distinctive and powerful sound whilst maintaining a real craftsmanship to their writing throughout. They really understand their audience and better still seem to know how to widen it and it’s that skill above all others that should see them sell many a record.
7/10
Words: Benjamin Coley
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