Kokopelli
In Review
My Review
The eagerly anticipated follow up to Resist has been in the pipeline for a while now, but is the wait worth it? In a word, yes. Fans were promised "the dark edge of kosheen" in regards to the next LP and Kosheen have produced the goods. Sure there are happy "pop/rock" tracks, like first single All In My Head and Suzy May for example. But Kosheen have NOT sold out but have evolved.
The appeal of Kosheen for me is that there music is original, different, somewhat genre less and more importantly, good. Kokopelli is all of the above. Kosheen's smooth trademark sound is still as present today as it was in Resist the band's debut album.
Avid Drum and Bass fans may be disappointed that this record lacks the Drum and Bass content that Resist contained but each track still demonstrates the band's d n b influences. Tracks like "Swamp" for example, which has no vocal content stays true to Kosheen's d n b roots. As does Ages and Wish. But Kokopelli as a whole is a rockier album.
This is a natural progression for the band. Anyone who has seen them live would tell you that there strengths lie in acoustic rock. Also, tracks on Resist such as Hungry and Gone for example contained the rock guitar elements present on Kokopelli. Kosheen have never hidden their "rock" side, so the rock characteristics of this album shouldn't really come as surprise. Perhaps if the band had stuck to their more breakbeat sound they would have been criticised for re-hashing the same old-same old. So it makes more sense therefore to evolve their sound. The key to success after all is introducing new fresh ideas and adapting. This is what Kosheen seem to have done.
Sian's vocals are as strong and as haunting as ever and this LP illustrates the full diversity of her voice. The album is rife with infectious guitar rifts as well, revealing the musical talents of Darren and Markee extend beyond the decks.
Stand out tracks on the album are Wasting My Time, Recovery, Crawling and Avalanche. All are down and dirty rock tracks but still contain the dark drum and bass influences. It would be criminal if Recovery isn't released as a single, as the remix potential is infinite with this song (my personal fave).
Like Resist every track on Kokopelli has the individuality that allows that track to stand on its own. So Kokopelli should cater for everyone. Overall the genre of music Kosheen fits in may have changed but who cares. At the end of the day this album, just like its predecessor, is amazingly good. Good music is all people should be interested in, not what genre it fits in....enjoy.
HMV's Review
Kosheen follow up the critically acclaimed Resist with another anthemic set, effortlessly combining melodic guitars and dark electronica. Kokopelli once again showcases Darren Decoder and Markee Substance's sublime production and Sian Evan's achingly beautiful vocal. Features the new single All In My Head.
BBC i Review (by Tony Wright)
One thing before we get started I was going to listen to this on my computer, put it in the d drive, then nothing. This is the first copy control CD I have come across, barring me from copying it to my hard drive or even listening to it. Expect many more of these in the future. So, not a good start. However the music is what matters.
Kosheen arrived on the scene in 2000 with a fantastic drum n bass single, Hide U. Edgy, demanding attention with a great vocal it got DJs and the record buying public interested in this drum n bass trio. Catch and Slip N Slide were released and there was some chart success. Their album Resist was all big beats and Sian Evans’ powerful vocals. Not particularly inventive but nice enough for a debut.
So Kokopelli would be their progression into fully formed mainstream drum n bass idols. Right? Wrong. Kokopelli has seen Kosheen ditch their drum n bass roots and turn their sound into a generic pop/rock act. The melodies are still there, Sian Evans plaintive voice rings out but instead of breakbeats, tame drum loops and pedestrian guitars appear. All In My Head is OK but apart from the instrumental Swamp every track seems the same. Wish is more dance orientated but still Kosheen are trying to scream, ‘We are now a guitar group!’ and not doing very well.
Kokopelli is not bad, it still has anthemic tracks which stick in your head, like Coming Home but it’s just very bland and the squeaky-clean drums and guitar just make the album seem very non-descript.
The fact it is copy controlled is not going to help its obvious assault on the mainstream.
dotmusic.com's Review:
First, a confession. Though genuinely enamoured with Kosheen singles like 'Hide U' and 'Catch', I was not one of the half a million or so people who fell head over heels for the band's debut album 'Resist'. It wasn't that it was a bad album, just that the steely soundscapes and coldly introspective atmospheres were hard to love. Also, it felt like an anachronism: an attempt at re-capturing the surly ambience of the early 90s 'Bristol sound'.
Happy was I to hear, then, that the trio - switch-doctors Mark Substance and Darren Decoder and vocalist Sian Evans - had changed tack for their second album. Upon hearing the new single, 'All In My Head', curiosity switched to ambivalence.
The distinctly indie-fied sound of the record initially grated (oh no, not another dance act picking up guitars) but the almost optimistic nature of the tune grabbed and the epic production values intrigued. The question was raised: was this a whole new direction, or just a one-off?
Upon listening to the rest of the LP - titled 'Kokopelli', after a hunched South American deity who played the flute and wandered between villages with bags of songs on his back to keep everyone dancing - you quickly realise that this is no one off: Kosheen have changed forever.
The high-octane drum & bass riddims once associated with the band are not just reduced; they are gone, replaced by an album full of what sound suspiciously like real, grown-up, songs. The boys have thrown a spot of programming into the mix, but this is no longer Kosheen's principal rhythmic fuel. Now they have live drums; and percussion; and guitars; and production so expansive that you feel they wouldn't be out of place as a U2 support slot.
The interesting thing about this radical transformation is that while it may sound dubious on paper (especially to many of Kosheen's clubbing fans), it actually sounds pretty good on record. Simply, it suits them.
The naysayers may mutter that Kosheen's new sound is a product of major label pressure, but 'Kokopelli' sounds too real and too poignant to be overly contrived. They have avoided many of the crossover clichéso it doesn't feel they're trying overly hard to be rock stars, or just throwing a few squealing chords into their songs to gain some rock cred. They sound like they mean it.
Fans will be relieved to hear that they have maintained some connections with the last LP - solid songwriting, strong attitude and a brooding ambience, for example - which make the next-level jump appear more natural and organic. The main fallopian tube that connects them back to their original essence is Sian, whose vocal performance here is nothing short of outstanding, flitting impressively between distressed urban anomie, tortured torch-song balladry and seduce-you-then-kick-you-in-the-throat-style foxiness.
'Kokopelli' is a warmer record than its predecessor too. Spacious and sophisticated production and murky pools of guitar noise temper the feelings of lurking menace that the band can't help creating (did I say all the drum & bass influences had gone?).
Rather, the album is the next logical step for a creative and talented band that started small in the studio and ended up playing live to big crowds and enjoying it. This project - which admittedly veers dangerously close to stadium-rock excess in places - was made with those big crowds in mind.
If 'Resist' posed the question: are Kosheen a drum & bass at or a pop band with good songs, 'Kokopelli' answers assuredly that the latter is true. This is lucid and articulate dance-pop-rock, purpose built for large audiences and packed with enough drama to seduce the hardiest of souls.
9/10
Q Magazine's Review (by John Aizlewood)
Kosheen's quixotic attempt to become a dance act capable fo cutting the live mustard almost worked last time around, even if the Bristol trio weren't quite the performance specialists they seemed to think they were. Their second album (named, allegedly, after some American Indian fertility symbol) takes time to yield its charms but it is still a step forward. Sian Evans has a proper dance diva voice - all deep, important and vulnerable - especially on the outstanding Ages. While Markee Subsatnce and Darren Decoder belie their idiotic noms-de-dance with the sort of substantial keyboard work that Depeche Mode once revelled in. A little more personality and they'll be set fair.
heat magazine's review: (by Leila Billing)
In a nutshell: The Bristol basd trio who made drum n bass go pop with album Resist have taken a break from touring Oz, Africa and Asia (it's a hard-knock life when you're a successful band) to record Kokopelli.
What's it like? Moodier than a highly hormonal teenager - and that'sno exaggeration. There's little here for drum n bass heads, as Kosheen have discovered rock in a huge way and made a record with some deeply dark sultry numbers. Sian Evans' chameleon-like vocals complement Kosheen's new, guitar-driven sound and she delivers plenty of vocal hooks that infuriatingly get in your head and refuse to leave goddamnit! There are more melodic trackz here but if you're looking for something uplifting you'd better fish out your Wonderbra instead.
How many good tracks? 7 out of 11
Best track: What's not to love about teh dark and dirty bass line on Avalanche
Worst Track: Blue Eyed Boy's blander than your gran's over cooked cabbage
Verdict: A stylish and sultry new sound
3/5
Ceefax's Review: (by Micheal Osbourn)
Kosheen come back to the scene bristling with an album title and imagery from Native American lore. The band rose to wider prominence with thier massive dance hit Hide U, while their roots were strong in drum n bass. This new offering sees them more in another musical direction while their origins still lurk in the bassline. With another top ten hit under their belts, their star seems to be a rising one.
Singer Sian Evans and her bandmates have elevated the role of guitars in their new collection, shunting them to more of the middle musical ground. Hit single All In My Head is a lighter summery tune on an upbeat lip. But the mood of the album shifts as the record progresses. Avalanche and Blue Eyed Boy are muscly, spine tingling tracks, tinged with an atmosphere verging on the sinister.
The smooth run of Kokopelli loses its way for a while with heavy instrumental Swamp and the odd Wish. The presence of Sian Evans' voice gives it a distinct hook to be hung upon- it's a rich velvety vocal which packs in much depth. It draws to a close with the most powerful and impressive track Recovery, which has a rasping beat and Evans reaching for the darkest depths of her considerable vocal range.
Devotees of Kosheen's orginal sound may be disappointed by this shift in direction. Guitar work has aken over as their main musical tool and ranges from the light to the dramtically powerful. Despite a couple of mid-album duds, it is accomplished solid work.As with All In My Head this requires a few listens beofre its effect really begins to take a solid grip.
