KITTY DAISY AND LEWIS – SMOKING IN HEAVEN

Gabe Roth, founder, producer and engineer of Daptone Records, put it best when asked if he felt ‘trapped’ in his retro recording approach: ‘trapped? I am the furthest thing from being trapped, I do whatever I want to do…’. British siblings Kitty Daisy and Lewis are obviously thinking along the same lines, as their third album, Smoking In Heaven, avoids the curtailments of a record made to be bought, sold or even heard – they are doing it for their 20ish year old selves. While the selection of tracks are arguably scatterbrained, ranging from the lazy Hawaiian rhythm and blues of I’m Coming Home to a surprisingly spot-on ‘60s ska number (Ska Song), the consistent charm of the trio’s DIY recording approach lets the variety of vintage lo-fi styles sit comfortably with each other – like a panel of U.N. ambassadors all wearing the same velvet suit. The several lengthy instrumentals show a refreshing willingness to just groove for a while – Kitty Daisy and Lewis take after The Rolling Stones in that respect – and the wonderful mix of punk sloppiness and revivalist nuance in the shared instrumentation gives these throwback siblings an ironically original spin. Top stuff.

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