Kids

A post bringing together two artists from the recent past, who both released songs into the world of 2015/ 2016, a decade ago now, and who seem to have flitted in and out ever since. 

First, Kid Wave, a four piece indie/ shoegaze band centred around singer/ guitarist Lea Emmery. Lea left her home town of Norkopping, Swden and headed for London, wrote some songs and sent them to Heavenly (who signed her). Under some pressure to do something or return home and pick up her studies Lea recruited a band with guitarist Matthias Bhatt (from Norkopping), bassist Harry Deacon and drummer Serra Petale. The sole Kid Wave album, released by Heavenly, came out in 2015 and was titled Wanderlust. Eleven songs, slow burning, fuzzed up psyche/ indie guitar with vocals by Lea, who sounds magnificently bored at times. For some reason Wanderlust was recorded in Stockport. 

All I Want is a beauty, the sort of song that makes you feel like you're twenty one again, unencumbered, Ray Bans and a faded Levis denim jacket, Silk Cut and cassettes, you haven't been home for days. 

All I Want

Lea moved to Los Angeles and recruited a new band and not much happened until an EP in 2023 called Gloom (it looks like Lea and Kid Wave are London based again- or at least were in 2023). 

In  2016 Paprika Kinsky,a singer/ musician from Lille, France, released a single Kids Of Your Crime. Driving synth/ guitar pop, slightly psyche, slightly motorik, sugar glazed indie disco, a tinny drum machine and chuggy bass with some sun dappled twinkly melodies on top. Slightly stoned on a sunny afternoon vibes- again Ray Bans and Levis and nothing much to do but loll about, listening to music, waiting for something to happen. 

Kids Of Your Crime

Paprika is an art school graduate and as well as music has made leather harnesses for FKA Twigs and Grimes. She seems to have dipped in and out of music, various electro- pop/ indie- pop one offs and singles, most recently Diamond Queen and Steady Lover, both out on Bandcamp in 2022, and then a five song EP also in 2022 called Young Broke And Fabulous. We're back to Levis, sunglasses, cigarettes and youth again aren't we. 

I Am Running Out Of Time

Danish producer Trentemoller has been moving towards a new album for some time, drip feeding singles/ tracks over the last year. The album, Memoria, is out soon and this song has been released ahead of it- No More Kissing In The Rain, a gorgeously melancholic, sweeping piece of 21st century shoegaze with singer Lizbet Fritze sighing, 'My dear, I am running out of time'. 

It puts me in mind of Kid Wave, a Swedish fourpiece, who caused a minor solar flare of interest back in 2015 in certain corners of the internet with some slow burning indie- pop/ shoegaze- a similar sound and feel, that windswept, rain sodden walk through town at night with your headphones on. These two songs were on their only album, Wonderlust, which came out on Heavenly. After its release singer Lea Emmery moved to Los Angeles and the first line up of the group split up at that point. She re- appeared the following year with a new version of the band, recruited in LA, and although they toured in 2017 nothing's happened since. 

All I Want

I'm Trying To Break Your Heart

Everything Changes

More new music- there's lots of new music around at the moment isn't there? A good thing, keeps us on our toes. This is the new one from Kid Wave, a group a lot of us round here fell for back in 2015 with their Wanderlust album. Everything Changes is all warmth- fuzzy guitars, a chiming lead and slow motion vocals. Shoegaze but with focus.



Reunited Oxfordians Ride have put out two new tracks. The first one, Charm Assault, was alright I felt but a bit too brash. It was followed by Home Is A Feeling, a sprawling FX pedal piece of work which lets you swim in it and also sounds like it could have been recorded in the Thames Valley in the summer of 1992, fringes and love beads.



But Kid Wave take the lead I think.

All I Want

Drew and CC recommended Kid Wave and their album Wonderlust (out on Heavenly, who don't often get it wrong). Drew and CC didn't get it wrong either- I got the album last week and love it. The group are half Swedish, half English and the album was recorded in Stockport. They've got harmonies and melodies, clanging and jangling guitars, FX pedals and upfront drumming. Mainly, inside the glow of the fuzz, they've got songs. Like shoegaze but more in focus. And I especially love the way singer/writer Lea Emmery sings  'baby I am kicking off now' in this song.