Kids Return hail from the UK - I'm sorry to say I wasn't on the ball with Kids Return right off the bat, since it seems I missed their really great LP when it came out. It has this driving rhythm that is unmistakably influenced but early 90's emo - initially the vocals killed it for me, but after repeated listens, I've come around, I'm maybe a little more forgiving. It's still got that juice, that drive, that in the end, is all that's needed. "This is not a Plastic Bag," for instance, begins as a rolling-plodder and builds into something of a shouted anthem. All the tracks pretty much run together, and this makes sense; thematically, the songs all run a similar vein into one solid side of wax.
On the flip, even though I'd say this split is almost a perfect pairing of bands, Bail nevertheless have this sound that is most certainly "German" - I don't know how quite to articulate it, but it has the same sort of (only-slightly) off-kilter tendencies that are present in bands like Shokei or Solemn League. Indie rock played by dudes who are well versed in hardcore movement. Smart but still playful, intricate but easily palatable. I've been most taken with "Triangle #2" - a super understated track that somehow even the spoken word vocals and drum machine (both normally bad ideas) actually offers a great lead into the controlled feedback of the climax. Even being this style that we've all heard a ton (albeit the sound I obviously love) Bail still come off as super unique.
Thumbs. Thumbs up.
~KS
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