Featured photo by Jonas Andersson
When one hears something described as “pop music,” the expectation is typically something bright, buoyant, and danceable. This is not Kite’s sort of pop music. If anything, the Swedish duo is closer to LUH. with perhaps just the slightest hint of Lorde. Theirs is a dark, droning version of the genre focused on gripping electronic sounds and pounding rhythms.
Just take a listen to the band’s latest single, “Demons & Shame”, as an example. There’s definitely something poppy about the song’s lyrical and emotional thrust, as it seeks to embolden those who find their hopes halted by life’s downturns. “Dreamers are the same,” goes the chorus, “Always with their demons and the shame/ They believe it before they see it.” But that encouragement is transmitted through some heavy electronics, drums pounding like a death march and synths rising like an eerie prayer. Yet just enough light breaks through all that inky noise to somehow actually give a sense of hopefulness.
“Demons & Shame” is a song we wrote concerning the failures that someone has to live through in order to progress forward in life,” the band’s Nicklas Stenemo tells Consequence of Sound. “It’s about the demons we have to face when we lose confidence in what we do. It’s about all visionaries desperately holding on to their vision. ‘Dreamers are the same.’”
The track comes via a video you can check out at the top of the page. Kite have just entered the US for their second-ever tour of the States, and you can find their itinerary below.
Kite 2017 Tour Dates:
03/02 – New York, NY @ Pianos
03/04 – Washington, DC @ Spellbound
03/05 – Richmond, VA @ Fallout
03/06 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Howlers
03/08 – Cleveland, OH @ Phantasy Nightclub
03/09 – Detroit, MI @ Small’s Bar
03/11 – La Crosse, WI @ The Warehouse
03/12 – Minneapolis, MN @ Amsterdam
03/17 – Austin, TX @ South by Southwest
03/18 – Austin, TX @ South by Southwest
03/19 – Dallas, TX @ Lizard Lounge
03/22 – Phoenix, AZ @ Club Red
03/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Complex
03/26 – San Francisco, CA @ DNA
03/28 – Portland, OR @ Lovecraft
03/29 – Seattle, WA @ Highline
