‘Felt’, Clean Cut Kid’s debut album, has been on the cards since the summer of 2015, when they released their first single, Vitamin C. The track began a steady drip of singles that eventually amounted to a (very) slow-burn sense of anticipation.
The song makes the cut here and kicks things off, with its offbeat indie-pop leanings and infectiously catchy chorus setting a high bar that the rest of the record, despite largely being spangly and new, fails to clear.
There’s no denying that ‘Felt’, down to the last “hey” and “ahhh”, has been impeccably mapped out. It’s polished to the point that it resembles the best the ‘80s pop scene had to offer, with well placed guitar solos for good measure, but it’s also riddled with cliches about love and longing. It really doesn’t matter how sincere you are when you’re this predictable. As a result, much of the record is easily interchangeable and forgettable.
Leaving You Behind is the perfect example. Its opening line, “I’ll never regret a minute I spent by your side”, begins a tale oft-told in a well-worn way, while Stay finds vocalist Mike Halls revisiting a failing relationship where the chorus is a repeated “But I couldn’t ever make you stay.”
Make Believe rinses platitudes about wearing your heart on your sleeve, as does the self-explanatory We Used To Be In Love. The latter is also so unashamedly ‘80s, with its pulsing bass and driving drums, that you can’t help shoulder dancing along while imagining which John Hughes movie it would best soundtrack.
Brother Of Mine, though, ushers in a more earnest tone. It benefits from the occasional stripped back moment, though it’s never long before an overwhelmingly intricate, often overbearing musical decision swamps any intimate asides.
Sometimes less is more and, although Clean Cut Kid clearly have an affinity for creating complex compositions, sometimes it’s simply too much. However heartfelt the lyrics are here, they are repeatedly swallowed up by their accompaniment. As Lou Reed once put it, any more than three chords and you’re into jazz.
Clean Cut Kid Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
Wed May 10 2017 - LONDON Scala
Fri May 12 2017 - MANCHESTER Sound Control
Sat May 20 2017 - LIVERPOOL O2 Academy Liverpool
Thu May 25 2017 - EXETER Terrace
Mon May 29 2017 - GLASGOW King Tuts Wah Wah Hut
Tue May 30 2017 - BELFAST Voodoo
Wed May 31 2017 - DUBLIN Academy 2
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