Kagoule - Strange Entertainment
Following the release of their debut, Urth, in 2015 Nottingham trio Kagoule were happy to be drawn into the flourishing Brighton rock scene and flaunt their early 90's influences and grungy guitar-based sound.
Three years later and the band have paused, taken stock, and created a follow up that displays a collective dynamic that embraces the sum of their three parts. Strange Entertainment still features Cai Burns' chopping guitar and distinctive vocals; Lucy Hatter's punchy bass lines are still very much in evidence; and there is plenty of idiosyncratic drum work from Lawrence English. However, these ten tracks project a distinctly post-punk palette that scatters new ideas liberally across the canvas.
Produced by Hookworms' MJ, and mixed by Spring King's Tarek Musa, Strange Entertainment is an album that bristles with innovation, and it may require several listens to really get underneath its skin. Egg Hunt burns with dissatisfaction; you can taste the disappointment in Bad Saliva; and Superhuman displays impatience and frustration. Even It's Not My Day, with Lucy on lead vocals, seems to share the angst. Yet, whilst Strange Entertainment may appear low on serotonin, it does somehow capture a new spirit of confidence in Kagoule – determined, in control, and now very much doing their own thing.
7/10
