Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

Kid Samson

Beast With A Billion Eyes

Label: Release Date: 15/05/2003

athomas by Andy (quirk) Thomas May 16th, 2003

When bands try to add samples and effects to their demos it's usually an unpleasantly-messy affair. Kid Samson, however, kick against this trend presenting three tracks of unrelenting quirky guitar pop backed by synthetic swooshes, robot vocals, drum loops and what sounds like in-game music on a Commodore 64 (see track 2, 'Volvo'). On the human side the vocals are pleasantly brit-poppy, on the opening track going uncomfortably Damon Albarn in the middle.

It's the constant desire to experiment set against their conscious decision to stay pop that makes Kid Samson so special. No matter how many strange noises and melodic twists they throw in every track has an immediacy that hits you to get your head nodding. 'Robotman' is a particularly good example, starting with Avalanches-esque sample soup it drives into a rolling beat with a big chorus. Later, it all goes quiet and we get guitars and square-wave single note melodies slowly burning up a ramalama punk pop diversion before diving back into the rolling. Someone has realised different movements in pop songs are possible without going quite to the camp theatrical extreme of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (though only just).

It's music with feeling, without feeling the necessity to explicitly explore feelings. It's complicated yet fantastically simple. It's rough as 48 hour stubble yet smooth enough for the tenderest of ears. Kid Samson are probably all intellectual deviants in the flesh, fantastically skewed pop music is rarely made by anyone else, which would make it twice as interesting to see how they perform this future-retro-trad-leftfield music live.

  • 9
    Andy (quirk) Thomas's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees



Left-arrow

Owsley Sunshine

Demo

Mobback

The Vines at Camden Electric Ballroom, Camden, Thu 19 Feb

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
MORE


    news


    The Neptune Music Prize 2016 - Vote Now

  • 103918
  • Takeover


    The Winner Takes It All

  • 50972

    Takeover


    10 Things To Not Expect Your Record Producer To...

  • 93724
  • review


    The Mars Volta - Deloused In The Comatorium

  • 4317

    review


    Sonic Youth - Nurse

  • 6044
  • feature


    New Emo Goth Danger? My Chemical Romance confro...

  • 89578

    feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270
  • news


    Our Independent music filled alternative to New...

  • 104374
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND