If you type the
name “Brian Tamaki” into Google, you’ll doubtlessly be directed to a plethora
of pages relating to the self-appointed pastor/leader – and confirmed xenophobic
homophobe – of New Zealand’s own ridiculously cultish Destiny Church.
Little wonder then,
that the band formerly known as Brian Tamaki and The Kool Aid Kids (previously blogged about here) have decided to dump the satirical and more offensive elements
of that moniker to now go by the far more palatable and manageable name, Kool
Aid. It’ll certainly help to cleanse the murky waters for any newbie searching
for information about the Christchurch-based band.
The name may have changed but the band is essentially the same group of musicians and thankfully there’s been only minimal tweaking of the indie-meets-psychedelia modus operandi found on past work.
The name may have changed but the band is essentially the same group of musicians and thankfully there’s been only minimal tweaking of the indie-meets-psychedelia modus operandi found on past work.
The Family Portrait
EP is the band’s third release of note; following on from the 2014 album Hot
Buttered Blasphemy, and the seriously good 2015 EP, The Enchanted Castle. It
amounts to six songs of lo-fi goodness, with three-pronged fuzzy guitar, infectious
mellotron, and shared his and hers vocals – from Luke Towart and Violet French –
at the core of everything the band offers here. Plus, there’s some trademark
humour to be found in a generally strong set of lyrics.
Although it’s not
a Flying Nun release, it’s exactly the sort of sound that particular label
specialised in. It may just be a Christchurch thing. And while nothing here,
for my money, is quite as instantly catchy as ‘Eating Glue’ (from The Enchanted
Castle release), all six tunes offer something different and the EP has no obvious
weak moment. In fact, it’s a great listen … grab it below:
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