Kaddish- Seven Songs

Kaddish- Seven Songs Album Review

Tracklisting:
01. More Awkward Than Silence
02. The City. Four Minutes Older.
03. A Line of Flight
04. … Last King of the Old World
05. Combray
06. Sans Doute
07. The Great Apart

I stumbled across this long- awaited seven track album from Dundee’s own Kaddish whilst surfing some blogs and zines; imagine my excitement, as an avid fan of almost religious proportions. Often in such a situation, a moment of such anticipation, a feeling of near- dread goes hand in hand with frenzied excitement as one contemplates the possibility that this just might not be as good as you had hoped and imagined.

Thankfully, the seven tracks found on this album ably dismiss any such concerns as unnecessary paranoia; this is, quite simply, a wonderful and life- affirming listen. The recordings themselves have a sharp, raw and chaotic quality, one which accurately conveys the oscillating dynamic of the songs without polishing or numbing the harsh edges whilst still sounding clear and crisp, which make the experience all the more thrilling. From the blistering opening statement of live favourite and sole survivor from their 2002 four- track “More Awkward Than Silence” Kaddish set out their stall. It is followed by “The City. Four Minutes Older” which instantly displays the development the band has undergone; within this one track of just over four minutes, every dynamic from near- silence to dissonant and cathartic chaos is effortlessly explored, whilst remaining a work of clearly discernable structure and perfectly considered form.

Indeed, much of the albums material will be familiar to anyone who has seen Kaddish in the last eighteen months; tracks such as “Combray” and “The Great Apart” have clearly been honed through their live performance; the potential they possessed in their early outings has been refined and focused into this recording, and as a result both are absolutely potent. The inspirational clean guitar motifs and strained dual vocals of “The Great Apart” in particular demonstrate wonderfully the juxtaposition of power and fragility that defines this band as absolutely essential listening.

It would be unfair to measure Kaddish by the yardstick of the competition locally, as there is essentially none. Even comparing this band to their contemporaries throughout Europe and across the pond does not fairly represent the bands scope; here we have a band who largely transcend lazy tags and expectations foisted upon them by people intent on pigeonholing them into one genre or another. Quite simply, this is intelligent, truly emotional, moving and cathartic music which marries melody and chaos, delivered sincerely and with humility.

9/10