It’s always hard to separate yourself from the crowd. With the UK producing hundreds of new bands every year, peeling through the crowd to find the next big thing can seem like an unimaginable task. Yet every now and again a band presents itself with enough charisma and energy to step out from the backdrop and fight its way to the front. The Kairos, a four-piece band from Liverpool present their EP Better Late Than Never in the hopes of grabbing your attention. It’s likely that they’ll keep it.
Starting off with a snippet of audio debating whether a jaffa cake can be considered a biscuit or not is certainly an unorthodox manner of introduction, but it’s not long before the tunes start rolling in thick and fast. Lead single and first track Thick Of It has plenty of rock energy that never risks running into the territory of landfill thanks to the bold and emphatic vocals from Dempsey during the chorus. Much of indie rock’s appeal can be put down to the youthful energy produced by its talents, and this track is no exception; exploding sonically in its final moments.
The title track Better Late Than Never is unapologetically noisy and in-your-face, meanwhile Bone To Pick has an instrumental reminiscent of Arctic Monkey’s Favourite Worst Nightmare with its blocky and staggering power chords. Its final chorus comes to an end with singable lah lah lah’s as well as groovy guitar playing that breaks down to sound like something off an early Led Zeppelin LP.
The Kairos often have a heart-on-his-sleeve earnestness that sweeps through every song present on the EP and never more so on the standout track Trip Through The Night. It’s a track that has an abundance of hope and sincereness sunk deep into its roots. “So why don’t we sit here, grab another drink dear and trip through the night/We could be alright” sings Dempsey, accompanied by strings that uplift and bring the song to a new level.
When speaking to The Rock Revival, frontman Tom Dempsey bluntly stated that on first listen to the new EP fans can expect, “good music”. That much is clear, but even more so is the energy presented in each and every song. It’s clear that there was a burning passion behind the making of this project, and that passion has carried through to the songs and more.
Words by Niall McGreevy