Kevin Tihista:
Modern Standard:
Broken Horse:
Out 29th July:
7.5/10
If there's one man who could give strop 'n' strum songwriter Kevin Tihista's prospects a bit of a shove in the right direction, it's the not-dissimilar John Grant. Of course, Tihista's heady acoustic brew of archly-delivered lyrics, side-swipes and discontent is all down to its clever creator but, with Grant's wryly-observed bitterness finally turning heads and charming ears, there's room for one of the first true originators of grump-step since Morrissey.
Tihista's last album, On This Dark Street, turned out to be one of this writer's favourite albums of 2012, not least for the memorable melodies and sweetly-sung pop jewels that went largely unnoticed by a public braying for '80s remakes and hipster electronica. For this second album in as many years (his sixth overall), our man aims for the part of the brain that collects earworms, in particular the cranium section that unleashes the blighters into your head when you're taking a walk or trying to sleep. And curse you Kevin 'bloody' Tihista, you've done it again. You've kept me awake at nights...
From the off, the first chunk of Modern Standard is easily as good as his best work - from the slowly-building Infinity to the bitter Just Can't Get High Anymore (the pesky ear-worm) and beyond to the cosy soft-rock of You Don't Make Sense, Tihista's inner creative fire has been well and truly ignited, inspiring him to knock out choruses like a fryer knocks out chips.
Further on, the Midlake-like Texas Girl is the nearest thing to mainstream pop on here but avoids sounding mawkish while Happy People, Shut Your Mouths seems pertinent advice for those who grin their way through every damn disaster, every niggling irritation - that could mean you, so stop smiling, right?
Although Modern Standards doesn't quite reach the consistently sublime heights of its predecessor, Tihista can rest easy knowing that his home-town will continue to ignore his valiant efforts, while the rest of the world gets with the program. Well, perhaps.
Modern Standard:
Broken Horse:
Out 29th July:
7.5/10
Tihista's last album, On This Dark Street, turned out to be one of this writer's favourite albums of 2012, not least for the memorable melodies and sweetly-sung pop jewels that went largely unnoticed by a public braying for '80s remakes and hipster electronica. For this second album in as many years (his sixth overall), our man aims for the part of the brain that collects earworms, in particular the cranium section that unleashes the blighters into your head when you're taking a walk or trying to sleep. And curse you Kevin 'bloody' Tihista, you've done it again. You've kept me awake at nights...
From the off, the first chunk of Modern Standard is easily as good as his best work - from the slowly-building Infinity to the bitter Just Can't Get High Anymore (the pesky ear-worm) and beyond to the cosy soft-rock of You Don't Make Sense, Tihista's inner creative fire has been well and truly ignited, inspiring him to knock out choruses like a fryer knocks out chips.
Further on, the Midlake-like Texas Girl is the nearest thing to mainstream pop on here but avoids sounding mawkish while Happy People, Shut Your Mouths seems pertinent advice for those who grin their way through every damn disaster, every niggling irritation - that could mean you, so stop smiling, right?
Although Modern Standards doesn't quite reach the consistently sublime heights of its predecessor, Tihista can rest easy knowing that his home-town will continue to ignore his valiant efforts, while the rest of the world gets with the program. Well, perhaps.