The ninth long-player from David Kitt finds Dublin’s king of low-key (now relocated to rural Kerry) on frankly flying form. Its ten tracks manage the elusive feat of being both cohesive and subtly eclectic, quietly pushing things beyond the merely folky, and yielding frequently striking textures without swamping the tunes.
Crucially, there are hooks aplenty here: album opener ‘Every Little Drop’ sets the tone, its descending acoustic chords offset by a lone synth-drum hinting at vibes to come. ‘Not So Soon’ is downright funky in that patented, only-half-bothered David Kitt sort of way, while lyrically typical of the themes here: “There’s a train that leaves at 9am, from forever to I-don’t-know-when”, one of many couplets that seem to speak to a sense of departure (physical or otherwise) toward an uncertain destiny. ‘Wishing Well’ explores questions of faith against a warm, hazy backdrop of electronica, punctuated by jagged shards of guitar. It shouldn’t work, which is precisely why it does.
Elsewhere, fans of Kitt’s earlier, stripped down style will find much to love in tracks like ‘Balances’, and the lovely ‘Wexford Strawberries’. On backing vocals, the brilliant Katie Kim is dependably great throughout, especially on my personal favourite ‘Till The End’ (sounding a bit like David Sylvian fronting Prefab Sprout, which is a very good thing) while the moody ‘All Folly’ features a rare appearance from Mary Margaret O’Hara.
All told, this is possibly David’s best yet. You’d be an idiot not to check it out.
David Kitt – Idiot Check
[Re:Warm]
Words: Paul McLoone
