Kid Kapichi - This Time Next Year (2021)

Hastings post-punk four-piece Kid Kapichi prove the accuracy behind BBC Radio 1’s description of them as “a force” with their highly anticipated debut record This Time Next Year, which combines conflicting emotions and catchy soundscapes without skipping over the nuances of their individual personalities.

Maintaining consistent energy and impressive cohesiveness throughout the unapologetic record, the band – consisting of frontmen Jack Wilson and Ben Beetham, George Macdonald on drums and Eddie Lewis on bass - establish what they’re all about right from opening track 'First World Goblins', before carrying on with the same levels of skill right til the end.

Whether on gravelly, message-heavy offerings such as 'Self Saboteur' and 'What Would Your Mother Say' or the fun-to-listen-to, melodic hooks of 'Glitterati' and 'Fomo Sapiens', the band is cohesive and teeming with conviction, rarely missing a beat.

The band come into their own, fully realising the potential of the record on working-class anthem 'Working Man’s Town'. The quartet are at their finest on this up-tempo offering as the tongue-in-cheek but brutal lyricism about people getting evicted from their homes is sharpened by Beetham’s skilful riffs, cutting straight into the meat of Kid Kapichi’s talent.

Where the revolution tinges 'Working Man’s Town', it appears, too, on 'Violence', which puts police brutality under the spotlight. The defiant spirit of 'Thugs', also plays straight into the band’s vocal and lyrical strengths. Other tracks such as 'Dotted Line' and 'Don’t Kiss Me (I’m Infected)' however, lack in creativity or originality as they attempt and fail to draw back into the band’s precarious balance of light-hearted and heavy narratives.

Despite these few instances of repetitive soundscapes and a general lack of sonic experimentation, the band finish strong with the sensitivity of closing track 'Hope’s A Never Ending Funeral', which injects the previously lacking experimentation with its distinctly softer instrumentation.

Overall, Kid Kapichi offer twelve tracks which are as enjoyable to listen to as they are filled with strong songwriting. Diverse, humorous and very much rooted in a DIY spirit - which sees them proudly showcase their individual talents even between the seamless blend of the teamwork - the record is one which the band can be proud of and that listeners can easily play on repeat.