Album Review

Kill Chaos – OK on the OK

• 11th May 2008

After throwing this in the stereo and pressing play, I experience that weird sensation of self-doubt when you’re fairly sure you’ve done one thing but also convinced that you did another altogether: didn’t I just put Kill Chaos on? Or was it ‘Very Fast Very Dangerous’ by Reuben?

Thankfully I’m rescued from that confusion by Kill Chaos’ vocals (not at all Jamie Lenman-like), but the bass-driven opening chords of ‘OK on the OK’ are still uncannily similar to the sound of the Camberley trio.

However, that’s where the similarity ends. As the title might indicate, this single suffers from a lack of imagination and some bad writing, with these downfalls being complemented by a voice that’s midway between shouting and singing and not really doing either very well.

The rhythm and bass section of the band, in fact, are struggling to make the best of the situation – they’re solid enough and anchor the song well, while still throwing in a bit of differentiation where they can. Even the guitar sound isn’t bad (though it’s not really anything to write home about either) – so it must be the Alexei Sayle of rock vocals that’s really dragging the project down.

Monotonous and jarring, the voice just does not work. I can’t listen to this more than a couple of times, and it’s immediately obvious why Reuben succeed where these guys fail: Lenman, though he’s no Meatloaf, has a decent enough quality to his voice and doesn’t overpower the music.

Ditch the singer, guys, and maybe we’ve got something to work with.