When a band’s press release describes them as the missing link between Garbage and the Cult, the general reaction is to sit back and mutter to yourself “Eh? How does that work then?”
However, credit to London-based quartet Kill For Eden, they may just have stumbled upon something here. Essentially, this debut album sounds like you’d imagine Saint Jude would if they didn’t have that annoying phobia about kicking out the jams and going full-on balls-to-the-wall ROCK on us. Yes, it’s got a slight retro flavour to it but Kill For Eden are sensible enough to realise that music has evolved since 1975 and aren’t afraid to add a few new tricks into the mix.
The Garbage comparison is definitely valid (especially on the bass-heavy “Beige” which would’ve fit quite snugly on “Version 2.0″) but there’s definitely more to Kill For Eden than that. Frontwoman Lyla sounds like she’s one part Shirley Manson and one part Stevie Nicks and it’s this collision between the past and the present that definitely marks Kill For Eden out as one to watch whether they’re thundering through an all-out rock assault like “Untouchables” or the slower more menacing “Stalemate” which allows Lyla’s vocals to bleed through a bit.
It isn’t all plain sailing and there’s the odd clunker on there like the leaden “Fate Insists” but this is a promising debut with plenty of variety from the “Personal Jesus” goth-glam stomp of “Slip Away” to “Little Wizard” which echoes the Cult’s “Fire Woman” with its echoey guitars building into a storming tune.
All in all, this lot may just be on to something here. Keep an eye on them.
