Labels: Moganono
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Second release from these kids, this time via Moganono records and on clear vinyl. Woo!
Two tracks of long, meandering chat-core here from Kolya. Chat-core being my strangely under-used (and I wonder why) term for describing bands with a hefty Van Pelt similarity. Todd Giles’ vocals are super impressive, just as they were on the original release, but the music has taken a slightly less aggressive down turn on this single, much less of a Moss Icon thing going on. Giles has the talent for raising his voice without shouting and getting that desperate feel to the words, just like Chris Leo can. Anyway, musically, they subtly hit the groove and induce the sway magnificently through lots of riff repetition. On “The Story Becomes The Vehicle”.
“Conversations and Smokescreens” keeps the style going, slow-moving and smouldering, and now even the way the vocals sneak up on you unexpectedly is giving off Chris Leo sized signals. Fabulous stuff.
If Kolya were some obscure band from the UK, I guarantee you they would be on Gringo, as this has much in common with Hirameka Hi Fi and touches of the other bands on that label too. If you’re not from the UK and haven’t a clue who Gringo records are, then just use those Van Pelt references from earlier on, it’ll make more sense.