Labels: This One’s For the Crew
Review by: Caroline Honour
Acoustic guitar: check. Folky female vocals: check. Indie lyrics: yep we’ve got them all here. It sounds like a one-woman band going on, but I’ll have to listen to more to find out. The cover of this album is very pretty by the way, and you’d be able to see it on the right if there was a picture of it on the internet. I’m a big fan of birds. Oh yes, sorry, the music….
Onto track two and it definitely appears that this is a one woman affair. She’s got a good voice, and is obviously talented on the guitar, but I can’t help thinking I’ve heard this sort of stuff done before, and better. It’s all just a bit “average”. Not bad at all, not by any means, and I’m sure this would appeal to quite a few, but I’m just left feeling a bit bored. I do like the lyrics though, and moving onto track three shows a more upbeat version of Kelly Kemp. At times sound a bit like a yelpy dog I have to wince at some points. Ooh “Loving Arms” appears to have a small choir going on in the background! This really livens the song up, and I think Kelly would benefit of having some sort of backing band with her – alone she seems a bit too stripped down.
This album is definitely tapping into the “acoustic-liftyrfists-punk” that seems to have become popular as of late. Frank Turner, Chris T-T etc….oh and that guy who got forgotten about – what was his name? Willy Mason?
In conclusion, this album isn’t bad. It’s not awful. It’s just a bit lacklustre, and I can see that’s the last thing that Kelly Kemp is aiming for. More harmonies, more backing next time, and there should be a new-improved version.