KINGFISHA – SELF TITLED
Brisbane six-piece reggae group Kingfisha have finally outed themselves with an honest self-titled debut. For just over four years now they’ve been working the national and New Zealand festival circuits and in much the same vein as their Kiwi counterparts they’ve been writing smooth groovy music inspired by Jamaica’s national export and characterised by lush dubs, heavy bass and silky soulful vocal delivery. For what is perhaps their strongest aspect, the group have laid a bed of riddims so dreamy and singer Andrew Forrest’s vocals are so smooth, the group could be delivering news of zombie apocalypse and you’d be unfazed by the pending situation. Yet while the group has created a lush and groovy record, the album just feels too comfortable. All the elements are there but Kingfisha seem content to just cruise so rarely does the record kick into next gear. Apart from the haunting and cautiously uplifting Wise Up the album ends up sounding a little one dimensional. Still, Kingfisha play to their strengths and when it comes to nailing reggae music they’ve got a big hammer.
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