Give or take about six weeks, it is two years since I reviewed the debut EP from AK And The Red Kites. And look, I work in marketing, so I know my way around hyperbole, but still: the damn thing was magnificent.
A lot has happened since then. Mostly, in the context of this, that Andrew Knightley has joined The Dust Coda, and his incredible voice is now their incredible voice. That is not a small thing, because Knightley has one of those voices that makes you stop what you are doing. Not because it demands attention, particularly, but because it already assumes it has it.
The thing is, these Kites have wings of their own.
“Hotter Than The Sun” documents a period in Knightley’s life when he left the craziness of London behind for the slower pace of the Chiltern Hills. And if you have ever driven down the M40, you will have seen the red kites circling above. They became, by his own admission, part of the inspiration here: a different pace, a different outlook, maybe even a different way of breathing.
Working with multi-platinum producer Mike Krompass, and recording at the previously UK-based Base Culture studio, has clearly helped bring out what Knightley believes to be his best work to date. Frankly, you would not argue.
“Broken Love” starts with driving energy, and yes, there is that voice, but this is the whole package. It is perhaps less bluesy than the debut EP, but it is broader too. Bigger. More assured. “Born To Lose” follows, and in the absence of Thunder, perhaps this can fill the void. Praise, let’s be clear, does not come much higher round here.
“Stronger” gets back to some of the blues flavours of that EP, but there is a barely concealed menace here too, while “Karmic Rituals” rather underlines what this record mostly is: brilliantly done hard rock, with hooks and choruses that sound like they have been built for bigger rooms than most bands ever get to see.
“Pearl’s Before Swine” has a more contemporary edge to its lyrics and its delivery, but let’s be honest here, Rival Sons have gone gold with less. That is not a criticism. It is the sound of a band understanding exactly where classic rock ends and the modern world begins.
“West Coast Romance” is a fun little rocker full of wide-eyed wonder. If Bon Jovi look jaded in the “Wanted Dead Or Alive” video, then this slice of glee is the polar opposite. It sounds like freedom, youth and foolish decisions, all wrapped up in three-and-a-bit minutes of joy.
Then comes the title track, and “Hotter Than The Sun” has an opening riff that is Hendrix, verses that owe something to ZZ Top, and a chorus that is pure arena rock. That, my friends, is a heady mix. Better still, it works.
“We Belong” is maybe the key to the whole thing. These songs have the built-in confidence of a band that knows they are good and knows they belong. A quiet swagger, if you will. Not arrogance. Just certainty.
“Trouble Again” has Knightley singing about making bad choices with the air of a man who kind of likes the idea, before “Sierra Starlight” shifts the mood with greater melody and a slightly different colour. That matters, because “Hotter Than The Sun” is not one of those records where everything arrives at the same speed and volume. It has shape. It has craft.
And then “Cosmic Train” rolls in at the end wanting go-go dancers and debauchery, and you would imagine it gets them. It is loose, alive, ridiculous in the best possible way, and it finishes the album with the sense that AK And The Red Kites are not so much making a debut as planting a flag.
Look, as debut albums go, this is right up there. Kiss used to claim they were the hottest band in the world, when the only thing hot about them after their early stuff was the pyro.
With “Hotter Than The Sun”, though, AK And The Red Kites can justifiably claim to be the hottest new group around.
RATING 9/10
