I've just been transferring my copy of Unshakeable Faith by Kit onto CD and I just felt I had to write a few words about them.
I suppose Kit were better known than we are (which isn't too hard!), but they are one of Liverpool's hidden jewels. As far as I'm aware, they had two 12" singles and an album out on Dave Haslam's Play Hard label in 1988/9, and that was it. Those 17 tracks are burning onto CD as I type.
Lin Sangster was the singer with Kit. She had previously been with Send No Flowers - who as far as I know only released one single. That single was one of those records, like the Wild Swans first single, where the band were meant to pick up the Bunnymen/Teardrops mantle and conquer the world. Instead, the band seemed to fade back to obscurity (sorry, I don't know the facts). However, that single (and I think a Peel session) introduced us to what I would describe as the warm warble of Lin Sangster's voice. She sings with a kind of passionate vibrato, her voice is unmistakably her own.
Knowing so little about the history of this, I don't know what happened in the intervening years, so Kit emerged fully formed to me with My Design. That voice was back, and this time it was bedded into a much more suitable sound. The dynamics of a three piece rock setup plus occassional trumpet seemed to fit together perfectly - and to me these songs have not dated.
Kit have something in common with early James - the bass is strong, the guitar tends to be light and rhythmic, there is a certain similarity in the drum styles and there is no great attempt to compensate on record for the lack of numbers in the band. This similarity is shallow though, where James were quite hit and miss, Kit were very much hit.
Cheatin' My Heart was the second record, and pretty popular it was too, if I remember rightly. Like a lot of Kit songs, it builds on repetition of a simple phrase, subtly rearranging the music as the song progresses. Song structures are not exactly unusual, but if you think about it, there has obviously been a hollistic approach to the development of the songs. Tracks progress. The best songs take you on a path rather than make you feel each bit lives in it's own compartment. You're not too aware of verse-chorus-verse type dynamics: the words, melody and music take you on a journey. To me, this is the antithesis of your average indie music, and well worth aspiring to.
Overshadowing Me, the first song on the Unshakeable Faith LP, is a great example of this. It's about some deed done that is immediately regretted, no detail of what it was is given, but for once generalising and remaining unspecific do make the theme universal. The regret builds as the song goes on.
This whole album is full of this stuff. Skidaddle is next up, and another universal theme (let's get out of this place) is done so well, that if you ever have had a notion of leaving this town (or anything else!) you'll empathise. The melody in the line 'it gets me every time' does get me every time - it's not some incredibly original, clever note sequence, it's just perfect for its moment.
So, I don't want to go through the whole thing. Suffice to say that this is a record that I put up there with The Room in my mental secret Liverpool, and now the Hellfires are essentially the same line up, it resonates more. The measure of this album is that there are so many love and longing songs, and even this time later they sound great and touch a chord. And there's a song called Love Sick that does a smash and grab and robs Orange Juice of the best song with that title prize!
Never particularly trendy at the time, I don't see any chance of a CD reissue and reappraisal at this time - which is a shame.
However, recently Lin has resurfaced in Bad Anorak 404. The sound is acoustic with a little electronica. It reminds me a little of early Tracey Thorn recordings, though shorn of teenage angst. It's far less intense than Kit, but it strikes a chord. It does that rare thing and imparts that good summer feeling without being twee or shallow - well worth searching out.
I never saw Kit play, I don't recall them playing that often, but I wish I had, as their sound was clearly based on their own interaction. That thing where the sum is so much greater than the parts is all too rare. Anyway my CD is well finished, so I'm going to listen once more...
Neal - 13/07/03