Knock Out Kaine - 'Cruel Britannia' EP Review

Tracklist:

1. Cruel Britannia

2. Love the Way You Hate 3. Going Down 4. Copperhead Road 1! 2! 3! 4! And away this bad boy goes. A visceral energy streams forth initially and I am instantly bowled over by the power in this song. The title track is lyrically the most significant, it encapsulates the anti establishment themes without resorting to tired cliches. The fact it is woven into a damn catchy chorus is just an added bonus to my pretty ears. “Love the Way You Hate” grabs me immediately with it's quirky guitar opening (I thought my CD player was skipping haha). Then the groove hits and the riff becomes clear as day. This song is the real earworm on the EP for me. Into track 3 “Going Down” and we have a quirky 50's style rock n roll song, the attention to detail is really shown here. The guitar tones, the choice of reverb on the vocals, the sublime rhythm section of Lee Byrne and Danny Krash is really indicative of the thought that goes into this simplistic yet incredibly professional and addictive sound. The vocal layering was supremely handled by Mr Foxx in the bridge of this song, really showing us a dynamic range in his vocal ability. The final track of the EP “Copperhead Road” begins as a beautifully melodic folk esque song and then builds slowly into a massive rock anthem. The latter half of this song keeps the same crisp melody under the new up tempo driving force of the song. “You better stay away from Copperhead road!”. Okay Mr Foxx. I will. Pinky promise. Knock Out Kaine are an experienced band and it really shows in their writing ability. They write concise, hard hitting songs with a fresh take on a very tired genre. That combined with their blistering rock n roll presence across the UK rock scene is just a match made in heaven. Cruel Britannia only has one issue. It's an EP. Give me more songs!