There is a continuous line connecting the generation of early 2000 elegant indie rock performers, such as dEUS, Girls in Hawaii and in some way Hooverphonic, and a new generation of musicians devoted to the verb of elegance in rock, such as Balthazar and Kerala Dust. Essential rhythms, delicate textures and a good balance between guitar and electronics are the coordinates of this bands.
Kerala Dust, formed in London in 2016 and whose components are Edmund Kenny (vocals and electronics), Harvey Grant (keyboards) and Lawrence Howarth (guitar), is a representative of a deeply european sound including the past and future of rock. The band is always in the middle between acoustic and electronic indie music as the love for electronic has been a point of reference for Kenny: “I got really into club music and used to go to Fabric and Corsica Studios loads. I got deep into the endless repetition of all of that music and the way that things unfold on you and it almost becomes a weird sort of mantra, leaving you in a clear headspace.”
In times in which everyone screams to be heard, Kerala Dust proposal is a direct but gentle one and An Echo of Love, their third album released for Play It Again Sam with Tim Gardner (keyboards) and Pascal Karier (drums) and recorded in different locations (Tuscany, Austin, Berlin, Zurich, Rome) is their manifesto of a blend of art rock, indie and electronica with a touch of experimentation. Kenny describes the album as “capturing a state of mind, shaped by my personal experiences, especially after a tumultuous period following the band’s 2023 tour”.
“Echoes of Grace” starts with a faint touch of guitar and distant echoes of synths and goes on with a deep bass line on which a whispered voice builds the atmosphere; something close to some old pop experiments made by Stranglers in the eighties. “Bell” is a sort of electronic blues in which the guitar riff leads the dance, everything is clean and precise and Kenny’s voice is firm and soft. “The Orb, TX” is one of the tracks in which the use of electronics is more impactful as the refrain is substituted by a progression of acid house impulses, giving the song a dancy and powerful attitude. While “Eden to Eden” is a soft ballad with a balance between keyboards and a rough guitar, “I remember You a Dancer” shows openly their love for nineties rave music: the song starts with an obsessive beat recalling the popular “French Kiss” by Lil’Louis and goes on enriched with Roland 808 acid sounds like in a club during the “british second summer of love”.
An Echo of love is a successful test for a band with a precise positioning in the actual panorama. Something that won’t turn your life upside down but might make it a little easier.
