Kidsmoke are set to release their debut album, A Vision in the Dark this June on Libertino records. A delicious set of dreamy propulsive pop songs tackling the unbearable lightness of being throughout. Addressesing topics such as helplessness, relationship dilemmas, negative influences, and even those moments when you have to sit back and laugh at yourself. see the wistful textures and spiralling gaze guitars of recent single ‘The Bluest You’.
While the epic power pop of ‘She Takes You Under’, which tackles the subject of dealing with your demons in order to move forward. Lance explains: “The song’s narrative follows someone at odds with themselves; being aware that issues need addressing but feeling reluctant to go back down the rabbit hole. It centres around my experiences with counselling and talk therapy.”
Wrexham’s Kidsmoke have put together a ten song lockdown playlist for us:
1.Buffalo Stance – Neneh Cherry (Soph) – I used to dance around the kitchen to this song with my sister – still do sometimes.
2. You’re Not Always On My Mind – Quivers (Soph) – we watched this band at SXSW 2019 and I love this song so much I have been listening to it constantly ever since. I love the voices, the melodies, the tones…everything
3. HW Running – Palace Winter (Soph) – this is full of 80s-synth energy and never fails to make me feel good.
4. Superbike – Jay Som (James) – I’ve been listening to Anak Ko again a lot recently. I associate it with last summer and the freedom we no longer have in the lockdown. Some tracks just seem to carry sunshine within them and this is definitely one of those. I’m a huge fan of Melina Duterte as a songwriter but equally as a producer as well. Jay Som reward many repeat listens.
5. The River – Michael Farneti (James) – I don’t know too much about Michael Farneti. I found the album Good Morning Kisses when going down the rabbit hole online looking for some new music. From what I gather it’s a self recorded, self released album from the 70s, and it’s absolutely fantastic. I ordered the reissued vinyl immediately. The River ends the album and feels like the classic that never was (yet…)
6. Circle The Drain – Soccer Mommy (James) – Color Theory is my favourite album of 2020 so far. I’ve no idea if it’s intended, but it takes me back to that early 90s acoustic place of Its A Shame About Ray or The Bends, for which I’m very grateful.
7. Down on Mission Street – Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (Lance) – I’m a bit late to the party on this one as I only discovered this band earlier this year, but I’ve had their album ‘Rattlesnakes’ on repeat ever since. I’m a big fan of 80’s bands like Prefab Sprout and The Blue Nile so as soon as I heard ‘Down on Mission Street’ I knew I was going to be a fan.
8. Why You Gotta Do It – Willie J Healey (Lance) – Even though the lyrics in the song are quite sombre, I find it really uplifting. I first heard Willie J Healey when I was checking out bands who were at SXSW the same year as us. I really like his ‘666 Kill’ EP but I feel he’s really come into his own on his new stuff.
9. Make Time 4 Love – The Goon Sax (Lance) – The Goon Sax is a new(ish) Australian band and this song is from their 2018 album ‘We’re Not Talking’. I’m really into The Go-Betweens and I could hear the similarities between the two bands – I found out afterwards that one of the members of The Goon Sax is Robert Forster’s (The Go-Betweens co-founder) son and everything in the world made sense again.
10. Tokyo – Matt Maltese (Lance) – Matt Maltese’s album ‘Bad Contestant’ is a favourite of mine. He’s an amazing piano player, has an incredible voice and seamlessly manages to combine humour and heartbreak in his songs. This track is from his new album ‘Krystal’.
