Album Review

Bands like this proliferated the better part of ten years ago, plying a sound modeled on the early- to mid-‘90s SoCal punk scene, and though that sound‘s taken a back seat to(in chronological order) ‘nu‘-metal, boy bands, mainstream hiphop and the new breed of crossover metal, it‘s never gone away, remaining a consistent seller, if not breaking records. Kiros, three kids from Calgary, Alberta, grew up on NOFX, MxPx, Blink-182, Slick Shoes, et al, and it‘s thoroughly evident in this five-song EP, released last year, that somehow wound up in HMVs and indie shops across Canada and led to their spending the last two summers aboard the Warped tour - no weekend warriors here. Kiros are Christians, but you won‘t really find that agenda in their music (which is maybe a plus, depending on your stance on such things), as they prefer to spread the word of self-empowerment and finding the good in yourself. Cheese? Perhaps, but the kids eat it up, and by now the band are surely aware that their market demographic is teens and pre-teens, mostly female, who sing along to every word...ah, it takes me back, this does.

Musically, Kiros are tight and gradually getting tighter, writing snappy, anthemic mid-tempo songs replete with the occasional guitar solo and nice harmonies. It‘s all about the choruses, particularly ‘A Second Chance‘, which has become their signature song and a live staple (can you imagine what a horde of fourteen-year-old girls would do to a band that tried to leave the stage without playing their favourite song??). The production isn‘t the greatest, but it‘s just an EP, a teaser designed to get the kids out to the shows where Kiros can really work their magic. ‘S.O.S.‘ concludes the parade with a cliched ballad, acoustic and overdramatic, featuring the hallmark female background vocals, but on the whole, while unoriginal, these songs are decent, and Kiros seem content to hit the road hard and let their conduct speak volumes. Good on them.

[Kiros online]

- Mike Postma

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