Crashing Gates EP
Artist:  Kevin Max
Label:  dPulse (Download only)
Time: 7 Tracks / 30 mins

When we spoke to Max just before The Blood was released and asked what his next project might sound like, he was caught between electronica, African rhythms and a Johnny Cash tribute record, adding that whatever it sounded like, it would have a deep groove. It turns out to be nothing like any of those options, having little aggression, few keyboards, no ululations and no rings of fire.

Having glanced at the history of Gospel music in The Blood, Max returns to his normal style here, taking up where The Imposter left off. It’s stripped down as far as instrumentation goes, but it doesn’t feel like it’s missing anything at all. Largely, where there might be keyboard parts, he’ll add a stab of harmony vocals or a quick blast of guitar (although a Mellotron-like chorus perches on his shoulder for effect, and a basic piano arpeggio rolls along in the title track and “Future Love Song”). His unmistakable voice and some bright, spangly guitar are what you notice. Anything else is just shading in.

Max was reported to consider this a “more focused collection of songs about the Apocalypse,” but if so, it’s somewhat oblique. The conventional, poppy “Baby, I’m Your Man,” for example, is a workmanlike mid-tempo love ballad, with no hint of doom, brimstone or horsemen. There are hints that suggest it all started with that direction, but Max got sidetrack by his creative, restless mind.

“Traveller” is a definite highlight, with its twangy, Violet Burning-styled guitar and highly stylised vocals giving it a definite ‘80s edge. “We stare into the abyss / Is there more than this?” he asks, maybe hinting a little apocalyptically.

At just over two minutes, “Saint of Lonely Hearts” is a punchy, melodic piece that is the most accessible to those who find Max challenging.

“Future Love Song” is a praise song of sorts that make you think of Bowie and Bono, especially at the end, where piano, guitar and drums each do the least they can to keep the track going. I failed in my first attempt at downloading “Out of the Wild” and found that “Future Love Song” virtually segued into the ambient title track, seeing Max whisper-rap about widgets, Big Brother and a Future Love Song: 

               We are the new
               And we are marching like a jubilant train through your towns 
               Past the lines of indifference, 
               Past the stormtroopers of compromise
               The deputies of damage control
               The officers of fear…
               Like freedom on a roll
               Wearing nothing but a smile on our faces and our hands up in the air.
 

“Out of the Wild” itself is the rockiest piece, all spiky, with guitars crashing into each other, and a chorus that echoes the Wizard of Oz, proclaiming “Ding Dong, the witch is dead!”

The 2009 version of “Your Beautiful Mind” is a contender for best piece, as he truly strips the Imposter song down to just a slow acoustic pick under his vocal with a few harmony parts thrown in and a hint of gurgling synth. Mesmerising. 

It looks like this EP might get a major label re-work with four extra tracks and a possible tweak of these pieces. In the meantime, the crystal simplicity of this set lights up his intelligent, literate lyrics. It’s one I’ve been happy to play on repeat for hours. 

Derek Walker