It must be somewhat daunting for an artist to step out of the shadow of a former band and embark on a solo journey. The comfort zone is gone. The sounding board of fellow band members is gone. There’s no one to share the joys, or the mistakes, with. It’s a new and foreign world waiting to chew you up and spit you out in a wave of expectation. Fortunately Kelly Kemp, former singer of NoComply, has bounded over such an intimidating task barely breaking stride.
The first thing that needs pointing out is that this self-titled E.P. is nothing like NoComply. Nothing! If you’ve had a chance to catch Kemp on the road in the past 18 months or so you’ll know that her set is very much rooted in folk music. The punk ethics are still there but the screaming brutality has gone. Bare this in mind: just because you liked the Plymouth outfit doesn’t mean you’ll like this. In fact it’s easy to see a lot of people being put off, and it’s equally easy to see a whole new fan base developing.
Opening track ‘Man Not a Woman’ goes a long way to setting out the stall: it’s a simple blend of acoustic folk guitar and Kemp’s surprisingly subtle voice that refreshingly looks at the difference between male and female performers within the live music circuit, a theme that encompasses the eight tracks on offer here. ‘Breathe When I Breathe’ and ‘Loving Arms’ have been set pleasers since Kemp started out, and on recording they’re no less pleasurable. The latter is the releases’ standout track, a mellow stroll with a countryside aesthetic to it. ‘Song for Solidarity’ follows up this serenity with a rather more up tempo gusto and a hint of the vocally forceful Kemp of old.
Maybe it’s a lazy comparison but this release is reminiscent of Frank Turner‘s debut E.P. (‘Campfire Punk Rock’). It’s simply stripped down stuff, one voice, one guitar and a whole lot of storytelling. Maybe it’s not a lazy comparison: Turner also plied his trade for years in a heavy band and looked to the quieter side of music as a release and a change of pace. Maybe acoustic music is the relaxing Spanish villa of the punk rock world.
Overall, Kelly Kemp has put together a very solid record that you can’t argue is being released at the right time. As acoustic music sweeps upward in the popularity stakes, this is an offering that has plenty to set it aside from the strumming pack behind. Soulful and heartfelt, this is one to really listen to.
The self-titled E.P. is available from www.myspace.com/thisonesforthecrew
Alex