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CD ReviewThis Years Blonde-“This Years Blonde”By Marcus Pan
While I read his press kit I'm wondering if Kiki and Blue were brothers separated at birth. In addition to the music of This Years Blonde, he's also responsible for films, art and other eclectic endeavors. Previous music credits include fronting for LA punk acts Baby Jane, The Flesh Toys and Amphetamine Blue as well as the Wave Bros. Band who performed surf rock style music, which is what leads us to the next paragraph about track one, I'm Doing Well. The CD opens with I'm Doing Well, and a video of this song is included on a data portion of the CD. I had watched the video prior, and it's tongue 'n cheek, cheezy yet snazzy. This song immediately reminded me of Vampire Beach Babes, so I was expecting surf-goth from open to close on the music portion of the CD. And while it remains similarly rock oriented, This Years Blonde is certainly not a surf punk release even if it takes some influence from the genre.
The fifth track on the album is Violated and has risen as high as #8 on alternative charts at the now defunct MP3.Com site. Strangely enough, I could have easily done without this overly artsy, simple and ineffectual track on This Years Blonde. It is however followed by a highlight of the CD. Drowned is a heavier, near-metal rock track with straightforward guitar work and lyrics about a girl in black. Very fine work here and I'll even forgive the too-long and too-simple drum breakdown as it gets saved by a strumming bass. The rest of This Years Blonde continues similarly – straight rock, sometimes good sometimes forgetful, always dark. And Kiki's instrument work, especially guitar and bass, are above par. Percussion is a bit boring. Maybe all This Years Blonde needs is a little bit of maturity to come into their sound and forge a niche where he can rest comfortably with other dark rock acts of yesterday and today. But while I can't say anything seriously bad about This Years Blonde, I can't say anything seriously great either – they kind of hover there. (1) A savant of sorts. See our interview with him in Legends #122. Contact Information: |
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Kiki Du Parre, aka This Years Blonde, takes
a very simplistic tack on his self-titled debut. I can easily draw comparisons
to 4/4 dark rock artists like Blue(1) or Jesus & Mary Chain when listening
to his work. Released by Blonde Bitch Goddess Music, This Years Blonde
is a garage-level rock CD that keeps it light, simple and relies on an
interesting character that fronts the music just as much as the music itself.
To the Night is a light yet darkly
played tune about a castle-backdropped rescuing-the-maiden story. Lyrics
throughout the album are poetic, but not overly high brow. Somewhat banal at
times, occasionally having that 12-year-old-kiddie-goth flavor to them; but
this isn't too overdone and doesn't come out too seriously childish. And the
instrumentation is similarly simple as well, with a very low amount of polish
to give you that indie/emo feel. The CD closes with a vocal remix version of
this track as well, done acoustically, and I rather enjoyed this version as
well for its haunting quality.
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