Prank phone calls, Children's TV theme music, Growling, quickly followed by Cartoon vocals. Yes its finally here. KTR's first 'real' demo (or album, or EP, or whatever you want to call it) and its as crazy as expected.
Like Miruk's 'Glory on the Horizon', there seems to be some sort of theme that runs through it. It opens with a song taken from a nativity performance vocalist Simon was in when he was a child. And the idea of childhood seems to be important to this release. The crazy interludes, whether it be the theme to 'The Raccoons' or a bunch of kids mucking about with a microphone seems to add to a theme of the loss of innocence, and not wanting to grow up and leave those treasured childhood events behind. Or the band just thought it would be funny to call a foreign man and pretend to be someone from 'Morris Dancers Weekly'' (BTW: since when did they dance 'round London?)
Anyway, the lyrics on this release aren't to be taken seriously. One is about a Hippo being hunted. One only features the word Mongoose. One takes their lyrics from 'Itsy Bitsy Spider'. But the lyrics fit perfectly to the vibe, and the music, and it doesn't mean the band shouldn't be taken seriously. The sudden changes in music through-out the songs will mean your never bored, and, thanks to the interludes, the release blends into one.
The obvious musical influences are Mike Patton projects (particularly Mr Bungle), and the Cartoon vocals remind me of SOAD. The growls are a bit like Death/Doom metal. The overall theme and the use of the drum machine means I am reminded of Marilyn Manson's 'Spooky Kids' days and some of the songs are also like the Residents, but the band has never heard them (they really should!) so the most obvious influence is Mr Bungle.
So what are the bad bits of this release? Well the vocals could be better recorded, and some of the songs are a tad short, as is the release on a whole; I for one want to hear those 'scrapped' songs. But, this is the bands first proper recording, so its a promising start, and already there showing themselves to be heading to exciting places.
8/10.