It’s very easy to name other bands as inspiration in these analytical, functional times. Frankly speaking, it’s the best way for those with no talent to get some attention. Not so Lola Kite. For all their impressive and eclectic tastes, (they cite influences as diverse as Lenny Kaye’s “Nuggets” compilations and Bollywood soundtracks), Keez Groenteman, Jasper Verhulst and Bram Vervaet aren’t just r
ecord collectors looking to regurgitate their taste on all and sundry.
Lola Kite has a formidable talent: that of being able to make very appealing, direct and catchy pop songs that use every bit of nous and bravura to keep the listener interested. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Keez Groenteman drummed in pop stalwarts Bettie Serveert and Jasper Verhulst plays bass in Moss. The band’s debut LP, “Lights”, boasts tracks like “Different Story”, an engagingly catchy number which employs winsome choral harmonies against a scruffy, shuffling beat to great effect. Then there is the trance-like “Number One”, which is kick-started by the sort of plinkety-plonk melody Kraftwerk were so fond of using in the late seventies. And listen out for this track’s strong use of harmonics and glacial textures, played off a strong and insistent beat.There’s a definitely glossy bravura in Lola Kite’s music, allied with the sort of bittersweet melancholy which reminds this writer of great “lost” acts from the 1980s, like the Heart Throbs or Kitchens of Distinction. This clever and heartfelt pop can be heard in the latest single, “Everything’s Better”, which sounds like Michael Karoli guesting on a Feelies track. It’s amiable, accessible, and bloody fine music.