The so-called acoustic country ditties of Glasgow-born four-piece Kassidy are raucous enough on record. Live, they’ve yet more clout, launching from folksy Scottish beginnings into harder, classic American rock territory and back again. And at last night’ s gig at the Borderline, central London, the sheer impact of what was, on paper, a modestly constructed and gimmick-free sound (the majority of their set featured nothing more than four harmonised voices, four guitars, four pairs of clapping hands, etc) was overshadowed by only one detail – image.
The dapper and undeniably handsome group fought for space on a small stage, standing side by side, guitars all facing to the left. This looked to cause a few injuries when the enlivening melodies called for movement, which they almost exclusively did. Sporting matching unkempt hairstyles and worn-looking suits, they etched a memorable, if slightly over thought impression in the minds of the audience. Put it this way, it’ s not difficult to imagine a Kassidy doll range for Christmas.
While at first it was easier to characterise the boys by the differing lengths of their beards, ultimately it was the nuances unique to each of their strong, gruff voices (20 a day, is it?) that defined them. Refreshingly, vocal duties were shared equally throughout the one-hour set. But the formula works best when all four voices sing in unison – one’s a wailer, one’s a mumbler, one’s an oo-er and one’s an aah-er, and together they create a textured and charismatic voice, masculine but cheerful.
Kassidy’s raw talent is wonderful in its honesty and simplicity – there are no synthesisers to be found here, and for half the set, there wasn’t even a drummer, just a lot of thigh slapping. But this ethos manifests itself in the product in other, lesser ways, most notably the lyricism. Too many soaring choruses about lost loves and melancholy are compromised of endlessly repeated lines (“Move on to the next, move on, got to move on to the next, move on” and so on). This minor gripe aside, Kassidy are charming.
Words by Jamie Tabberer
