REVIEW: Kiss My Acid @The Unicorn, London.

rattlemag
Apr 15, 2016
3 min read

Photo: Svenja Block Photography

There is a definitive privilege and rare proffering on hand when observing a band still within their fledgling emergence. You get to see them as musicians and craftsmen of show in a diffident and honest light; no room yet for the honing of pomp, polish and fortification. If you're lucky it will be a show where humanity is evident and unspoiled, the music alight in the best shades of raw. You'll see the band learning as much from the crowd as they are teaching, turning from the sheath of ego to earn as much as they are giving. Every band worth their salt in the world was once a band like this.

I scored this kind of luck when I walked into a small live music bar 'The Unicorn', in the bed of London's infamous alternative hot spot, Camden Town. A place that still serves as a pulsing vein of musical stronghold, from jazz to punk, in the heart of the British capital.

I came to see a band that is monumentally true to DIY form, Dublin natives, Kiss My Acid.

Vocalist and lead guitarist Freda Conlon is every inch the snarling punk rock princess, dressed head to toe in torn pattern clash finery, and boasting a healthy dose of jovial beer-fuelled Irish attitude. Rick Wright is her left side stage compliment, a reassuringly laid back bass player with an air of austerity that defies his ease of delivery. Completing the trio is Tom Ryan, an energetic drummer with a penchant for gurning and an audio submission that is a modest ska sprinkled rock and roll thunder.

Kiss My Acid have been an item for a little under a year, and while the stage bound notches on their studded belts amount to a chaste number, the passion put forth by their front woman is alive and unremitting. She holds a choppy command over her audience, wielding a white Les Paul Epiphone, affectionately named Gloria, like a well handled weapon. The setlist is torn through with fangs bared, leaving enough space only for an almost shy provocation of the crowd; their catchy and observant originals peppered with covers of seasoned punk rock favourites by the likes of Operation Ivy and Stiff Little Fingers.

The confidence and configuration are palpably elevated during these covers and perhaps demonstrates the years behind a youthful dedication to the introduction of old scene heroes. However, no influence is quite as apparent as the ostentatious roar of injection that echoes the call of East Bay punk rockers Green Day.

Aside from sporting a stickered endorsement on her guitar, and hailing with an inked tag on the base of her neck, it is clear that Conlon's cultivation is steeped in the 'American Idiot' trio's essence. From stage nuances to the pages and chords of KMA's debut EP 'Individuality' it is clear that Armstrong is the daddy of her musical education. She pays it back in attempts to wreck the fable of pop punk and knit the divide of the genre back together, perhaps under the ideal of bringing the punk story closer to its lost solidarity, back from a scattered belonging. There is a new generation of musicians out there, keen to wipe the pretensions of segregation in their field, Kiss My Acid are a great example of such.

However, no matter how bright the sheen of esteem and idolatry reflects, this is a band that deserves to shine via their own prerogative. There are some bands that you find yourself very hopeful for. Some that, under ideal indemnity and endurance, could progress and improve to be a welcome and thoroughly enjoyable addition to many fan's playlists and live music rota. Kiss My Acid deserve to know that they are already better than they think they are. Their appreciable and fleshy musical aptitude is a foundation built on rock, they already own the tools for building high in entertainment and certainly in hard earned talent potential. They received a resounding cheer at the end of the night and more than a dozen raised glasses, and I'm certain I was not the only one present who wouldn't think twice about buying a ticket to see them again in the future. In fact it'd be a treat, they can only get better.

Kiss My Acid - if you're reading this, next time you play ...do it all with a pride louder than your front womans hair! (And yes....that's Definitely a good thing!)