I am loving this! And must confess I've never checked out Kennedy's main gig All India Radio. Is it just me or is K/K becoming more Floydian with each release?
Excellent follow-up to the last one, but I still prefer the last release (slightly) over Jupiter 13. However, I still prefer most of the KK stuff over the last few Church albums.
I like All India Radio for the Ennio Morricone guitar sound. The synths and drum machines tend to turn me off, so I find them frustrating. Echo Other is a fantastic album, but I tend to struggle beyond that because a lot of it sounds the same to me. Kilbey/Kennedy has the added bonus of Uncle Steven and his voice and lyrics, but I do prefer his more organic projects. Not to say I dislike KK at all, Jupiter 13 is quite lovely. Although I really don't care for the autotune...
No, it's not just you. With the sci-fi themes and cover art, I think that KK's identity has been cemented with their last two albums. Jupiter 13 is an accomplished album. I really enjoy it.
I may have mentioned elsewhere that I found All India Radio by way of the first Kilbey/Kennedy album. "A Low High" was my gateway and I was hooked. Somehow I managed to round up quite a bit of their physical product but Martin Kennedy is rather prolific (his discography has literally exploded since "A Low High") and some of his stuff is download only which is fine. That gap was filled a while back with his insanely cheap catalog offer on Bandcamp. You won't find me disputing that a lot of All India Radio sounds the same. To me, it is more about the vibe. The overall atmosphere is certainly consistent but there are usually twists and turns to make each of his albums worthwhile. All that said, a new All India Radio album is dropping at the end of April and as I often do, I'm jumping on the ultra-limited physical product pre-order (this time, the vinyl, a bonus LP, 2 CD deluxe edition, t-shirt & art print). Based on the pre-released single, "Deep Blue", there is going to be a lot to like on this album. The sound is more fleshed out, more song-like versus ambient excursions if that makes sense, yet retaining the DNA that makes All India Radio one of my favorites. There is even some of that Morricone sound going on along with an etherial Cocteau Twins-like quality, something I picked up on before the female voice kicked in which served to further cement that impression. Here is a link to the All India Radio Bandcamp page...Afterworld, by All India Radio . This was an easy find. If only a "Jupiter 13" CD were this easy.
I just listened to "A Low High" after my previous post and it totally reminded me of how I got hooked. That'd be a pretty good place to begin. And I'm beyond psyched for the new one!
If you're on Spotify, listen to these albums... Highly recommended: Space (2018). Kilbey makes a guest appearance on Eurydice In Scarlet (listen to it through headphones, LOUD). Fall Remixes (2014). Remix of the 2008 album Fall. Echo Other (2006) or Echo Other (2019). Contrary to InStepWithStars, I don't dislike the synths and drum maschines. It's just beautiful, evocative and captivating music. I know you like Depeche Mode, so you'll probably feel the same way. And, for whatever it's worth, Martin Kennedy seems to be a really nice guy. I've corresponded with him quite a bit on facebook concerning reviews I wrote of All India Radio and Kilbey/Kennedy releases on my (sadly) now defunct website Volt & Volume. He's very prolific. I try to support him and his music, but it's a tough job keeping up. Best regards Thomas.
Thomas, thanks for the recommendations and I will check those out. Yes, I am a huge DM fan. I also love the electronic side of guitar bands like The Cure, Radiohead and New Order too. These latest K/K releases are mining the Pink Floyd aesthetic too and that is not a bad thing! Regarding his creativity and volume of output, I wish Peter Gabriel and Roland Orzabal would take a page from his book.
I hope you find something to enjoy in terms of All India Radio. That said, I agree with you: Roland Orzabal is in a league of his own.
This is a stunning track which has moved me to tears several times. Those who find Steve or the Church to be too atmospheric or not song-oriented should give the whole album a spin.
Another favorite: "The Story Of Jonah" off Kilbey/Kennedy's Glow and Fade: The chorus is mesmerizing.
I'm listening to Kilbey's Painkiller. I did a Q&A with him a couple of years ago. I told him my favorite S.K. album was Painkiller, and he said that he, too, thought that it was his best solo album. That said, I also love Narcosis + More and Dabble. But then, I have an affinity for all of his solo albums; they are all excellent. This is "Outbound" off Painkiller.
Dabble and Painkiller are both stunning. I also love The Slow Crack. However, despite not being very representative of his normal style, I think my favorite is Eleven Women. It just makes me so happy when I hear it.
[QUOTE=" However, despite not being very representative of his normal style, I think my favorite is Eleven Women. It just makes me so happy when I hear it.[/QUOTE] But I don't get that. To me, to my ears, "Oubound", "Crystalline Rush", and "Celestial" are some of the most Church-like solo songs that he ever wrote/recorded!? That said, "Poppy Byron", Birdeen", "Josephine", "Doris McAllister", and "Think Of You" are all lovely.
I was talking about Eleven Women with that. Painkiller is fairly Churchy. Eleven Women is more pop-oriented than he's been since the '80s with only a handful of tracks in the same vein ("Comedown", "Unified Field").
Okay. Yeah, personally, I'm a bigger fan of The Church's post-1988/Starfish releases. I prefer the less pop-oriented stuff. Still love the early albums, too, though.
I like the denser soundscapes of the post-'80s albums over the more pop-oriented early stuff. But I still love the early albums too. My favorite album SK is involved with is Isidore, but Eleven Women is my favorite of his "solo albums" if we ignore the collaborations. Starfish has to be my #1 Church album by default, predictably, but were that not just utterly perfect, After Everything Now This would be on top for me. In between After Everything and Forget Yourself is a 45-50 minute album that is the Church's absolute best, better than Starfish.
It's cool that you love Eleven Women so much. I love it, too. But Narcocis + More, Dabble and Painkiller are my absolute favorite S.K. solo albums.
Don't even get me started on those two The Church albums. I wouldn't change a thing about After Everything Now This or Forget Yourself. To me, these two albums are absolute perfection. Love 'em so much!