Album Review: Kid Kapichi- 'There Goes The Neighbourhood'
Kid Kapichi are one of those increasingly rare things: a band that has made it in modern music through relentless dedication and hard graft. Of course, the sheer quality of their music- at once angry and witty, bone-crunching and melodic- is what’s got them where they are today, but nothing was ever handed to them.
Unlike recent overnight successes such as The Last Dinner Party and Wet Leg, or legendary acts like Arctic Monkeys and Oasis, Kid Kapichi didn’t form, play some gigs, and get signed within two years. Far from it. The Hastings quartet- consisting of lead vocalist/ rhythm guitarist Jack Wilson, bassist Eddie Lewis, lead guitarist Ben Beetham, and drummer George MacDonald- have been playing with each other in some form or another for the best part of a decade. They really started to break through in 2019, when Frank Carter invited them to join him and his Rattlesnakes on tour, and have since released their ferocious 2021 debut ‘This Time Next Year’, and its exhilarating 2022 follow up ‘Here’s What You Could’ve Won’. Now, 5 years on from their breakthrough year, the band are back with their third album ‘There Goes The Neighbourhood’, which may well trouble the UK top 20.
This unfaltering determination is the lyrical basis for lead single ‘Let’s Get To Work’, a motivational stomp which sees Wilson depart some no-nonsense advice over a snappy riff. “Fake it ‘til you make it that’s the rule/ Wing it ‘til you win it that’s the goal/ And if they tell you you’re too slow/ You’ll be in first place, win the race, now look who’s a pro”, he growls pointedly, perfectly encapsulating the Kapichi ethos while summing up their story so far. Second single ‘Tamagotchi’ also looks back, this time to Wilson’s youth, where he reminisces about “Holly Valance, Game Boy Advance/ School discos and Macarenas”. Littered with such witty references to the late 90s/ early 2000s pop culture which Wilson and his bandmates grew up with, the song is an amusing listen, but backed by a beefy riff and a chorus which asks “Hey, don’t the time just slip away?”, it’s also an impactful look at the passing of time.
Opener ‘Artillery’ is a brutal condemnation of a government which has consistently put themselves first, with no regard for the devastating impact on the lives of ordinary people. “Chewed up and treated like dirt/ The problems are the people’s when the problems get worse”, spits Wilson over darkly hypnotic riffage which brilliantly compliments the bleak state of affairs he describes. “They’ve had it all from the day they were born/ We just wanna be fed, we just wanna be warm”, is a couplet for the times if there ever was one, and a natural starting point for an album which follows on from two aggressive, politically-charged records. “It’s still dealing with the same issues because nothing has changed and things have only got worse”, explains Wilson, a sentiment which extends to the punked up social justice of ‘999’, a thrilling sonic attack which exposes damning police misconduct. “So many cases/ If they’re not rapists, they're fucking racists”, snarls Wilson over punchy drums and bristling bass, reminding listeners that, heartbreakingly, the Sarah Everard case is far from unique.
The record is not entirely despairing, though. ‘Can EU hear me?’ is a bright and breezy rebuttal of Brexit (“You can’t just separate a tectonic plate, mate”), while ‘Subaru’ finds Wilson hilariously concerned that his secret girlfriend’s “brother drives a Subaru/ Her dad’s a master in kung-fu”. The song is musically quite straightforward, but contains some of the record’s funniest and most ingenious lines. “Now she’s got me thinking ‘bout her in her Calvin Klein’s/ Call me Kevin McCloud, cause she’s a grand design”, grins Wilson on the song he cites as his personal favourite, a moment of respite to show that “it’s not always doom and gloom”.
Bridging the gap between scathing social commentary and light-hearted humour is the Suggs-featuring ska of ‘Zombie Nation’, which pays tribute to Madness, yes, but even more so The Specials, and their late, imitable frontman Terry Hall. “We’d played with The Specials, they’re one of our biggest inspirations and Terry was just one of the best to ever do it”, remembers Wilson. He can rest assured that Terry would’ve enjoyed the song, a spooky slice of social critique which recalls ‘Ghost Town’ in its bouncy beat and lyrical themes. “And then the samba rhythm starts to play ‘round the Parliament grounds/ As they tell us that we should be British and proud/ But I feel like I’m falling faster than the pound/ Cryin’ and I’m screaming but I can’t make a sound”, laments Wilson on an album highlight which looks to Britain’s musical past to make sense of our political present.
Elsewhere, ‘Get Down’ is an upbeat, electronic-tinged celebration of “nights out in small towns”, showcasing the considerable influence of producers Dom Craik and Jon Gilmour, while ‘Angeline’ is a moment of pure pop euphoria, paired with bitingly dry humour; “I’m just a sucker for her big brown eyes/ She’s got me wanting to be euthanised”, deadpans Wilson on the album’s catchiest song. Things take a darker turn on the record’s penultimate track ‘Oliver Twist’, which finds Wilson “questioning my sanity, my sanity’s insane”, over a brooding instrumental reminiscent of 'Tar Pit’ from ‘Here’s What You Could’ve Won’. Like that record- and indeed their debut- the band end proceedings with a reflective ballad, this time a touching tribute to their late friend, Hastings legend Jimi Riddle. Initially intended as a demo, the recording is stripped back, just Wilson’s voice accompanied by an acoustic guitar, and all the more beautiful for it. The song highlights Wilson’s underrated knack for melodies, and leaves you impressed by the band’s versatility. Kid Kapichi are not simply a punk band, but one of the most exciting forces in modern rock music, mixing fury with fun, despair with elation, party with protest, the personal with the political- they’re here to authentically reflect the hardship of being alive in Britain today, with the wit and warmth their contemporaries can only dream of.
Words by Ben Left
