“In all honesty, Halifax has so many little side projects cropping up that it’s hard for a blogger to keep it all straight. So you’ll have to excuse my ignorance and oversight in not mentioning Kestrels on herohill yet. In fact, when Chad sent over the new A-side to their debut 7″, I quickly wondered why no one in Halifax was talking about this impossible-to-google band.

It would be easy to just point out that the trio consists of members from the Medium Mood and The Got to Get Got or make a witty observation about judging a person by the company they keep as I mention that they are on Noyes and touring with The Sleepless Nights and Cursed Arrows.

But when it comes to cranking out a debut 7″ (only 300 copies of sweet white vinyl I might add), those things don’t really make a difference. It’s not the parts of the engine people care about, it’s how fast the car gets off the line and within 20 seconds of the lead single, you get the idea that the trio has jacked up the horsepower.

Seaside starts with a simple electric that resonates in the vast emptiness, but quickly vocals and rapid fire drums fill your ears. The bass line dances around your headphones and for a few precious moments you get fooled into thinking the band is hiding under the disguise of a catchy indie rock outfit. They take their foot off the pedal briefly on the slowed down chorus, but for me the band’s potential is revealed at the 2:16 mark.

Finding a riff and running into the ground is easy, but Kestrels throw you a curve ball when they explode into a Mascis-esque guitar solo out of nowhere. They don’t belabor the point with useless notes – it’s only 15 seconds – but it changes the complexion of the entire song and the abrupt shift lets the band transition into a subdued, melodic outro. All too often, a young band tries too much, too soon, but the complexity of Seaside mixed with the infectious, carefree sounds how they are going to be getting some serious attention when a full length surfaces.”

Tracks

1. Seaside
2. On Our Time

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