Yahoo! Music Review

Released on 07/05/07
Label: Bella Union

The Kissaway Trail look like angels, but play like demons. A fresh-faced five-piece from Denmark, and signed to the ever-wonderful Bella Union label, they land with the ambitiously-titled "Forever Turned Out To Be Too Long" and keep on running towards the light. An anthemic melting pot of Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev - all stately organ, mighty strings and Scandinavian vocal twang - it should induce Last Night At The Proms proportions of flag-waving. "Hey!" they shout. "If you're listening you'll hear, the world's inner decay…", before breaking out the Arcade Fire bunting with a tumultuous la-la-la singalong.

As a celebration of the planet's imminent destruction, this bittersweet rush is recaptured frequently throughout the album - "We can, we're strong, we'll beat it!" runs the defiant chorus to "61". Much of the remainder continues in the same breathless vein. The opening line of "Smother + Evil = Hurt" finds frontman Thomas L Fagerlund "spinning" in the night - "the world stood still, but the time was winning". Elsewhere are references to "diamonds for a kiss", "rampant branches", "ships tossed in storms" and "cities like blood clots". The Kissaway Trail appear awed by the very essence of life, both natural and man-made.

This reaches an apex on "La La Song", which celebrates both the Heavenly Host and the Land Of Broken Dreams. It's effervescent energy - obsessed by both the stars and the stars - the aural equivalent of an everlasting high-five. Like A-ha's Morten Harket - surely another influence - Fagerlund has a tendency to break into an impressive falsetto, just because he can. The only downside is that so much energy is expended at the sake of the songs. You wouldn't define it as showboating, but amazed by their own prodigious musical capabilities, there's a tendency for the band to look at each other with awe-struck grins and deviate into yet one more dazzling instrumental passage.

Apparently sh*t hot live (YouTube footage indicates a rousing an orgy of excitement), a little more concentration in the studio wouldn't go amiss. And like any emerging talent, they need time to flourish and fully outgrow their influences. These are minor quibbles though. Time is on their side. And with their joyous sound ringing triumphant, The Kissaway Trail appear to possess the magic key, and have the makings of a fine, fine band. Their debut is one of immense promise, and few other albums this year will capture the unadulterated possibilities and beauty of youth.

    by Adam Webb