Fighting Kites :: Fighting Kites

Weighing in from North London, Fighting Kites are back, and in fighting shape on their new s/t full length. Fully delivering on the promise of their previous split with Broken Shoulder, Fighting Kites take their sound further into detail with just a dash of more crunch. This will probably be taken the wrong way, and it’s full of good intentions, but Fighting Kites play an almost traditional, or traditionalist take on, classic post-rock. There’s nothing moldy about it or stale, though. There’s also none of the all too often ponderous thud, or a lack of a sense of humor, or playfulness. Fighting Kites is a vibrant and buoyant record, full of sparkling flourishes and a looseness they’re fully in control of. It’s all wrapped up in an airy, dry production that keeps the focus on the interplay and plenty of room to take flight. Opener Chuck Close takes full advantage of that with a rustic false start that glides into a layering up of tiny details until the big picture is clear. Aptly titled if I’m on track and applies across many of the cuts, no matter if the vibe is moody and somber like the stand-out Apartment Hotel or the slightly off-beat Carlos Mends Shoulder, revisiting some clapping detail lifted from the optimistic Bowling Alone. Whatever the tangent they go on, Fighting Kites maintain a humming melodic thread that weaves it all together, through the  approach as well their playing.

Apartment Hotel :: Fighting Kites :: Fighting Kites (2012, Variant Records)

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