Taking a break from being everyone's favourite girl pop punk darlings (copyright every article on Kenickie ever), the Kenix say bollox to that and head off on
holiday, hitting the duty free as soon as they're on the plane then heading down
the first disco they see. A big summer choon that is at the same time gloriously
disposable and bittersweet ("But if you've got the brass to flash then I'm yours for anything", "Stay in the sun - don't you know we've got no place else to go"), "Stay In The Sun" is the perfect soundtrack to the summer
we're having this year: it may be sunny today, but Kenickie know it's going to
be pouring rain tomorrow...
"Hooray For Everything" is the first extra track, and is vintage Kenickie, being
that unique mix of Shangri-Las and Hole that is addictive as dope-flavoured bubblegum and twice as fun. Mention should also be made of the extra track on
CD2 (which I didn't get) - "Save Your Kisses For Me", the band's majestically
barbed cover of the Brotherhood Of Man's Eurokitsch classic, as featured on
A Song For Eurotrash last year. Priceless, but not as good as good as Shane
MacGowan's shambolic contribution (a ritual slaughter of Johnny Logan's "What's Another Year").
A remix of "Stay In The Sun" closes, all Spanish guitar and rhythms, like the sound of waking up on a beach in Ibiza with sand in your hair and summer on your
mind.
Kenickie have officially wrested the Song of the Summer 1998 title from off Fun Lovin' Criminals. Tune in next week for the next exciting instalment...
Rating: 9/10
The Rest
In which everyone's favourite drone rocksters return with a triumphant and
faithful cover of The Rembrandts' classic...not really. Thankfully, Tiger
choose a wonderfully obtuse and daft ramble to return with instead in the shape
of "Friends". Dan's obviously been drinking at the same pubs as Mark E Smith,
Shaun Ryder and John Lydon, with his half-spoken, half-slurred and completely
bonkers vocals ("We drank tarty venom I'd saved for later at the back of the room", "Knock knock knock, man goes in, did you hear?, Englishman Irishman and queer" - quite. Meanwhile the rest of the band conjure up a
numbingly monotonous Stereolab soundscape in the background, which is more
hypnotic than Telly Savalas in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. An acquired taste (tarty venom indeed), but one worth sampling, perhaps at length.
First b-side is the big n bouncy "Wensleydale", a song to drive to (so
long as you're driving a tractor). Smashing tune, Grommit. "Bottle Of Juice" is
more narotic and sedated, in which the band sound as though they've been at
something altogether stronger than Kia Ora.
Hear them roar.
Rating: 7/10
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