Keith: Hold That Gun
Following a busy end to 2006 (winning Channel 4’s ‘Road To V’ competition, collaborating with Lily Allen on her ubiquitous debut album, & touring nationally to raucous shouts of ‘encore’ with singer-songwriter, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly) there’s huge optimism for Keith as they enter 2007 with the 3rd single release from their ambitious & acclaimed debut album Red Thread.
When the demo of ‘Hold That Gun’ won Zane Lowe’s Fresh Meat competition early 2005, a questionably named ‘Scally’ sent in a message to say ‘listening to Keith was like waking on Monday morning & actually wanting to get up & out of bed.’ Now, having been completely re-recorded, it’s official single release has lost none of the original demo’s charm and returns as an even stronger, more anthemic, attitudinal ‘fuck you’ to the apathy of acceptance and homogeneity that runs through pop music culture. ‘Take me beyond this hole, resist the followers’ world’ Keith protest. ‘Where is your ambition?’ they rightly question, & emphatically urge their belief, ‘take your chances modern mortals to command success.’ It’s all delivered with a quality that could lull you into a blissful happiness & then knife you with the sweetest of smiles.
For their growing legion of fans, it’s backed by brand new track, ‘No Solemn Quest’, further showcasing the expansive sound that separates them from the pack. If these tunes don’t make you shake your tail feather, or at the very least nod your head, then we’d advise that you take your ears back to your delivery room and ask the NHS for a full and immediate refund.
A quick synopsis for those still not in the know, Keith are like Radiohead at their funkiest down the local disco with the omni-observant Morrissey buying tofu-scratchings at the bar. Some say the UK quartet are a poignant package of sophisticated indie-dance for today’s musical intelligencia or, as we like to think, Keith are simply a brilliant band for people who just want to think, feel, love, move and groove to the best kind of music.
With all this, it’s no surprise that both critical and fan acclaim has further grown. With props-a-plenty from former Smiths’ turned XFM DJs Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke, playing live for honorary rock & pop Mancunian Mani’s ‘Manic Mondays’, whilst being heard by a million plus audience for ‘96.2 The Revolution FM’, things are going from strength to strength. Just ask one of the 50,000 Keith performed to at Japan’s Summersonic Festival, one of the 10,000 swiftly purchasing their album, or Tokyo’s ‘Inter FM’ listeners when Keith topped their radio playlist (leaving Timberlake at 4 & Scissor Sisters at 8). Having been asked back to go and play the huge ‘British Anthems’ Tour with Ordinary Boys and The View, it all reminds you just how good the Japanese are at this seeing into the future malarkey.
So clear a makeshift dance floor in the office, and crank up the stereo – there’s no doubt that ‘Hold That Gun’ is a modern crossover classic.
