You know those times when you are hungry but don’t know what you want to eat? You wander around the grocery store filling your basket with random stuff and still can’t manage to find something you actually want to eat? That’s sort of where I have been musically as of late. I don’t know whether I am burned out or the scene is just not living up to my expectations but the reason is sort of beside the point. It’s been hard to find anything that I really want to write about. Luckily there have been some strange and interesting acts pop up that have caught my attention. One of those acts is The Legendary Kid Combo with their self-described sound “…country dark style influenced by the most in-famous bands like the Cramps, Hank Williams and all the Balkan folk mixed with the darkest italian songs from the fifties and sixties.” (Yeah I lifted that from their page because it describes them better then my own: Gypsy-twang, which might have been seen as insulting) They call this style “cockabilly” which seems to fit nicely. Caravansaray was the kind of different at just the right time. (With these kids hailing from Italy the urge to make spaghetti western jokes is strong but I will refrain.)
This album is a lot of fun from start to finish and you wouldn’t be off the mark at all. I doubt it will make any of the usual suspects’ top lists but it would be a goddamn shame to not have this one in your collection. I know it fills a void for me, a void I didn’t know I had, a void that can only be filled by a twang version the Beastie Boys – Fight For You Right sung with a slight Italian accent. I know, I too was surprised upon finding that void but very happy to be able to fill it! The rest of the album is very well done. The music is tight and the lyrics are imaginative. I don’t know if their description of their stage show is to be believed but if it is then “a grand guignol, with lion tamers, a puppet show, a freak show” is something that I need, yes need and not want, to see in person. In fact there are quite a few shows I have seen that would have been better had they included a puppet show, come to think of it! This one is worthy of your time and hard earned dollars. Don’t believe me? Then check out these tracks:
The Legendary Kid Combo – Hangman
The Legendary Kid Combo – Fight For Your Right
The Legendary Kid Combo – My Medicine
The Legendary Kid Combo official site
The Legendary Kid Combo on Facebook
The Legendary Kid Combo’s YouTube Channel
