Albums: Kid Kapichi - Fearless Nature

Kid Kapichi - Fearless Nature

Leader of the Free World; Intervention; Shoe Size; Stainless Steel; Worst Keep Secret; Dark Days Are Coming; Patience; If You’ve Got Legs; Head Right; Saviour; Rabbit Hole.

(Spinefarm)

Kid Kapichi release its fourth album, where you could be forgiven for thinking that this was not the same band that melted pop, punk and rock into an energetic ball of uplifting songs.

This new set of songs here are mainly more downbeat than previously, with influences from Blur in their more restrained moments and also Gorillaz. Since their last album, Kid Kapichi has shed a guitarist and drummer, with the band now a two-piece with frontman and guitarist Jack Wilson and bassist Eddie Lewis – which isn’t really too surprising; the two were always the focal part of the group.

Wilson has recently broken up from a long-term relationship, with many of the lyrics here written from a personal point of view, though opening number Leader of the Free World is more about political leaders, all wrapped up in a grinding melody that hooks the listener.

The Kid Kapichi of old resurfaces on Intervention, which recalls classic Killing Joke, and in parts New Model Army too, on a track that is bold, brash and bombastic. Stainless Steel comes with a nagging guitar riff on one of the best tracks on the album.

The second half of the album is more introspective, with Head Right' and Saviourbeing songs that both could win them a new audience.

Many a band would have been dropped now by their record company, especially so far into their career without any mainstream success; thankfully, Spinefarm, much like Kid Kapichi, have kept the faith. The band might sound different in 2025 – and all the better for it.