The term ‘long-awaited’ is an often used in music, but for this debut album from Chatham’s Kid Harpoon, it’s highly appropriate. Launching his career over two well received six-track EPs, the average fan was led to believe that we were in the hands of a prolific talent… then, nothing happened for quite some time. In days of yore (pre-Myspace, in other words), we would have been left wondering whether he’d been dropped, beheaded or split from himself due to musical differences. A cursory look online, however, allayed such fears, as did a recent solo tour where not a single familiar song got a look in.
‘Once’ has arrived later than expected, partly due to version one being abandoned at the end of the last year. What we have here, then, is the version Mr Harpoon is happy with; a series of verse-chorus-verse-chorus pop stompers mixed with aching laments that on the whole does everything you hoped they would. A certain versatility around the genre is on display throughout, ranging from one man and his guitar to a full and vibrant accompaniment.
Recent single ‘Stealing Cars’ demonstrates the growth of the Kid Harpoon idea perfectly. This is a full band effort that doesn’t contain itself within an immaculate blueprint, whilst making frequent concessions to pop convention. ‘Colours’ structured song performed with bags of personality. It displays the ominous undertones of the earlier work, something that isn’t overly apparent on much of the rest of the album (the Dickensian leer of ‘Running Through Tunnels’ aside). ‘Back from Beyond,’ for example, is a jaunty indie-pop song, made edgy through slightly abrasive vocals, but the structure and the sound is very chart friendly. Somewhere between EP one and EP two, Kid Harpoon’s sound got larger, and with it that tinge of AOR, which doesn’t detract from how good the song-writing is on the whole. With this album, the transition from acoustic troubadour into energetic frontman is complete.
There are many hints that this conforms to the pop blue print – three stompers to begin, tempered by a ballad at track four. ‘Buried Alive’ is an acoustic ballad, backed lovingly with strings but feeling a little like a b-side. This is tempered by ‘Once,’ which is an eerie open letter about romantic pitfalls, searing in an understated way, but full of matter-of-fact honesty and a sense of loss. ‘Burnt Down House’ is an allegorical exploration of a relationship breakdown, complete with Sultans of Swing style guitar crunches. ‘Death of a Rose’ is a sweeping, scurrying and threatening, building into a micro-orchestral finale with great impact.
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‘Hold On’ in an acerbic number that has live favourite written all over it, achieving the difficult feat of creating danceable acoustic songs. ‘Marianna’ is the best song with a girl’s name as the title that I’ve heard in a long time – a lilting effort that should warm the cockles a little. It also has the best lyric on the album in “Hello, hello, Marianna, I took a trip on you, do you remember me?” These songs remain interesting due to the expressive vocal delivery that is applied to every song. It’s from the heart, and it’s a heart you can appreciate.
There are moments that don’t work when they drift into the earnest and cheesy element. ‘Flowers by the Shore’ is weak. The lyrics are notable for being particularly awful compared to the rest of the album (“Build a boat and I will row, deep below into the ocean”) and the song sounds like the poorer relatives of some of the opening tracks. It’s very average, which is something followers of Kid Harpoon have been bred not to expect.
‘Childish Dreaming’ in an understated end to proceedings and you’ll walk away remembering the lively, immediate numbers. Lucky that you will return to this album to give the slow-burners a chance to do just that. There’s doom, heartbreak and affability on display in equal measures. It’s an engaging debut album from start to finish, and absolutely worth the wait.
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