Kid Sam - 'We're Mostly Made of Water'
Kid Sam - 'Soft, Grey Rain'
Kid Sam are Kishore Ryan (Seagull, Otouto, Where Were You at Lunch) andhis similarly named cousin Kieran Ryan. On paper they're just a guitar and drums duo, with additions of accordian, field recordings, glockenspiel and keyboards to flesh out their sound on record. They also alternate between acoustic and electric guitar. Which may sound like semantics, but it's these small nuances that infuse their music with an atmospheric sense of craft.
But what glues this project together ultimately is the lovely, romantic voice of Keiran Ryan. A mellifulous, easy swoon that falls somewhere between the hushed moments of Thom Yorke and say, Zach Condon of Beirut. Such a thing could also amble alongside Paddy Mann a.k.a Grand Salvo quite nicely. That Keiran infuses his songs with peculiar narratives that play out according to his own world view, is a handsome and absorbing rarity.
The Ryan cousins self-titled debut is out in a week or so and it's a mature, diverse release. Meaning, "really good". More on that soon, but for now, two songs that show the breadth of what they have on offer, the metallic stomp of 'We're Mostly Made of Water' and the sombre, fingerpicking lilt of 'Soft, Grey Rain'.
They launch the album this Sunday at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne, with dates coming up elsewhere alongside Firekites and Dick Diver. The album is available online now from
www.twobrightlakes.comwww.myspace.com/kidsamband