The first thing you notice when you finally get a hold of a physical copy of the Kurtz – EP is that it’s been released on cassette tape. The debut release by new Exeter-based independent Spinning Sister, you know this hasn’t come about by accident. It’s the natural medium for a label in love with the Small Wonder, Rough Trade and Beggars Banquet era of the 1970s and 80s.
The second thing you notice is the cover. The stark and awkwardly framed image almost resembles an impressionistic face at first pass. Closer examination indicates that it’s actually a photograph of brutalist architecture pivoted 90 degrees. This is a useful summation of the music held inside. At first glance it’s human, but all of its structural elements (inspirations range from Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub, Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, Joy Division and The Birthday Party) are on show and twisted into new shapes.
That doesn’t mean this is a record that f*cks about. With six songs in 16 minutes (that’s less than three minutes each, maths-fans!), the South Devon four piece who formed the band for something to do to escape Sixth Form monotony use everything in their armoury to blast the listener into their way of thinking.
Opener ‘Goldstar 640’ is a cold screech of guitar washing across a powerful underbelly beat. With vocalist Jamie Dunne’s destructive drawl drawing upon Oscar Wilde’s short story ‘The Happy Prince’ for lyrical inspiration, it couldn’t be much more direct or bruising as a statement of intent. Debut single ‘Waltz’ is less a ballroom dance and more a ballroom blitz at the end of the world. Essentially it’s an alternative 80’s banger and you can read my previous micro-review here. ‘Sheep’, the oldest song of the bunch, is a pure punk rock ricochet that teeters constantly on the edge of destruction while ‘Fleahead’ takes its time to breathe, expanding the palette perfectly by delivering an unexpected edge of classic rock to the post-punk proceedings. Meanwhile, ‘Josef. K’ (based on Kafka’s ‘Letter To His Father’) is a nihilistic noise-rage rampage that gives way to an abrupt left-turn for closer ‘For Myself’ – a tight jangle pop template which
shows that even when wearing a velvet glove, the band have a fist of iron.
Whether Kurtz will lean into any of these songs as the blueprint for their next record is a question even they may not know the answer to. What seems certain is that, with so many strings to pull upon, it’s going to be brutal fun finding out.
Kurtz are:
Jamie Dunne – vocals, guitar
Jake Fox – lead guitar, backing vocals
Matt Norris – bass
David Percival – drums
Follow Kurtz on Instagram | Spotify | Apple Music
Review by Peter Richard Adams
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