Kiai Academy - An Artillery of Words (EP)
Kiai Academy are Australia’s answer to Taking Back Sunday but with less heartbreak and more Western suburbs anger. Their sound is a little different to most bands emerging out of Sydney these days and it’s nice and refreshing to hear. It’d be easy for young city hipsters to discredit Kiai Academy because they wear their pants baggy and yell their lyrics with angst and honesty. The Sydney music scene was probably harder for these boys to break into than it would be for a band that isn’t heading in the direction of hardcore/emo/whatever it’s categorised as. But the thing about Kiai Academy is, they don’t seem to care. They’re doing their own thing and their refusal to change their sound to suit the market has meant they’ve created very honest, raw and believable songs; the type that you want to shout along to; the type of songs you’d angrily cry to when you’re feeling fifteen again. Not to mention they’ve also released two EPs (a self-titled and An Artillery of Words) and played as support act for Sparta (you know, the kids that didn’t become The Mars Volta after At the Drive-Inwent in separate directions).
The first track on An Artillery of Words,‘One Second’, is a mellowed out fuck you to growing up, getting a job and all that sort of thing. The lyrics (provided in the cover sleeve, as all good bands should do!) are a little cliché, but they’re delivered so convincingly that it doesn’t even matter. I’ve seen the song performed live and even the biggest lyrics snob wouldn’t be able to resist singing along with that “just one second! one second!” chorus.
Am I Dead Now?, the song that follows, has a brilliant opening to make everyone pay attention. It is also the stand-out track on the EP. Following with the theme set in motion with the first song, the lyrics are all about rising above people that get in the way and try to bring you down. It will split audiences down the middle – some will call it childish, teenage angst, et cetera; others will empathise with the topics and appreciate the sharing of personal stories and touchy subjects.
But then the mood changes a bit on If You Want This… and this is when the Taking Back Sunday reference really kicks in. It’s one of those love songs for the kids that are too tough to listen to Death Cab For Cutie. The chorus is one for the heartstrings, “if you want this why does it ache so?” so get the tissues ready. It’s always more potent when it’s angry and heartfelt at the same time.
The next two songs sound a little same-same. The inevitable “heard it all already, show me something new now, please” feeling takes over. Luckily the final song on the EP, Minor Skirmishes, makes up for this. It’s a bit of an epic one for a ‘hardcore’ group (they tend to like their songs short, fast and loud), lasting over seven minutes. It adds something a little interesting to finish the EP on a high note.
This is good music, no doubt about it. But I just can’t help feeling like I want to shake the band and push them to do something more spectacular. This EP proves that they have the capabilities, the talent, to do something really special but it’s as though they’re stuck within this I Am An Angry Teenager, Hear Me Roar framework and aren’t even trying to strive for something more than that. What Kiai Academy are doing now is really good, but if they pushed their boundaries a little, I think they could create something really great.
