REVIEW: Kid Canaveral - Now That You Are A Dancer

It seems to me that Edinburgh's Kid Canaveral is both smart and prudent.  They know when their material is ready, and they know that releasing material before it is ready, even if loudly requested to do it by their most avid fans, isn't a good career path.  Their early years were punctuated by the release of four well received 7" records and a number of gigs.  Fans wanted to know why an album wasn't quickly on offer, but the band took their time before self-releasing the excellent Shouting At Wildlife in 2010 on their own label, Straight to Video Records.  If I recall correctly, front-dude David MacGregor explained the long lead time to their fans as a simple matter of the band not having been good enough previously. Since then, the band has signed to Scotland's respected Fence Records, played at SXSW, collected a number five ranking in my 2010 album list, and .... well .... a long wait for Now That You Are A Dancer.  But the thing about this band is that you can trust that the wait isn't due to sloth or lack of inspiration.  It is because no album is released until it is ready to be released.  And these aren't the kind of people to betray your trust.

What Now That You Are A Dancer delivers is infectious indie pop, with bouncy melodies, wit ("Breaking Up is the New Getting Married", "Who Would Want to Be Loved"), and introspection.  It usually comes in an under three minute burst with a fast tempo, but the band slows down the proceedings on a few occasions, such as the memorable "Skeletons" on which Kate takes the lead vocals.  While the band is careful about not releasing songs before they are ready, there is nothing restrained about the music they do release; one word that comes to mind is triumphant.  They have the entire package of songwriting, vocals and musicianship, and we are the beneficiaries.





Here is a taste of their live performance --


Many of us who pay attention to indie pop feel that this band has arrived.  And listening to the album, even the band might actually agree.  Carefully, of course.

Kid Canaveral is David MacGregor (guitar/vocals), Kate Lazda (guitar/vocals), Rose McConnachie (bass/vocals), and Scott McMaster (percussion).

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