Album Review: Kid British - It Was This Or Football (First Half)

Posted on 24. Aug, 2009 by Cheryl Frances in Entertainment, Music

Kid British are Adio Marchant, James Mayer, Simeon Mclean, and Sean Mbaya, a four-piece band from Manchester. Their debut album is titled ‘It Was This Or Football’ and keeping in line with the football themed title, the ‘first half’ was released in July 2009 with the ‘second half’ due for release next month.

I became aware of Kid British back in June when a good ‘Mancunian’ friend of mine invited me to see some guys she’d known from college who were in a band perform. I was a bit sceptical at first as although I love live music and am always going to concerts I had never really been to a ‘gig’ so I didn’t know what to expect…however as I always like to try new things I accepted her offer. I was extremely glad I did, as I was thoroughly impressed with Kid British. Not only were they great performers, but their music was such an eclectic mix of different genres that it was impossible for me to put them in a box, something I particularly liked, as variety and creativity are 2 factors I value highly when it comes to music.

Now on to the album… In the words of Kid British they ‘create their own noise by mixing a bit of this with a bit of that and ending up with one big fat MANKY sandwich. A tasty shank of old school ska and dancehall, a generous twist of indie, a light splash of reggae, and garnished with a juicy slice of electro pop - voila!’ And this is exactly what you get on the album. The opening track ‘Elisabeth’ is an indie track with an extremely catchy hook ‘Oh Elizzy oh oh, Elizzy oohhhh’ judging by the name you’d expect the track to be about a girl named Elisabeth but listen carefully and you’ll see that’s about something completely different!

The second track on the album ‘Our House is Dadless’ samples Madness’ 1982 hit ‘Our House’, although the tune and the chorus remain almost the same, Kid British have completely changed the verses to reflect their own experiences growing up in dad less homes in Manchester. The lyrics are quite humorous and my personal favourite line is “you hold a better conversation when born in grimy locations…and that’s where you’ll find my crib in the same area as where the alchies live”.

The third and fourth tracks on the album are my favourites. ‘She will leave’ is an up-tempo track with an infectious guitar riff outlining the inevitable event of a woman leaving her man if she’s not treated right. Like all of Kid British’s tracks it has a quick-witted conversational style that can’t help but draw the listener in. ‘Part Time Job/Shirt and Tie’ is a reggae inspired track explaining the band’s need for a part-time job to support themselves whilst trying to make it in the music business. This tune just has a feel good vibe and I can’t stop playing it.

The final two tracks ‘Reactions’ and ‘Cosmopolitan’ are mellow chilled out tracks and the perfect way to round off the album.

The bonus track is a roundup of the 08/09 premiership season and I actually really like it (then again I do love football) but I think the lyrics are so funny. “Wenger had a nightmare, it’s like a youth club, does he scout all his players at the funfair?” It’s a Shame they are Manchester United fans though, so at the end of the song and album when they start chanting, ‘Glory glory Man United’ this is the perfect place for me to turn it off.

Rating: 7/10
Stand-out tracks: Elisabeth, She will Leave, Part –time Job/Shirt and Tie

Check out Kid British at http://www.myspace.com/kidbritishmusic and www.iamkidbritish.com

And you catch them (and me) live at Proud in Camden, London on the 30th August.

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