KAURA
Self-titled EP (Kuam)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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It's heavy but smooth and powerful yet fragile, and you don't have to look far for other interesting contradictions in the music of Kaura, either. The consistent element is the ethereal vibe that is central to all five songs on this EP, and if you're moved by such things there's a good chance you'll find yourself at least somewhat smitten. "Dividing Lines" should be good enough to make you a fanatic, in fact. But that comes later, after the set-up work has been done. Malcolm Guess' voice wanders into the fray wrapped in warm distortion in the opening number, "The Falling," but rather than languish there, which would be the cliche thing to do, Guess emerges from the cloud into crystal clarity and leads the band through an all too short set that is quite satisfying and probably indicative of a band with much more good music to come. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay them is this: I can't tell you who they sound like because every time I think I've almost detected a strong influence, something blows my theory out of the water. I love when that happens.

© 2005 - DJ Johnson