After the demise of Summer
Sundae, nobody outside Leicester gave two shits about what was happening in
Leicester... musically that is. Sure, Kasabian have consistently taken the
brand on tour with them, but nothing else has really taken a stab at it. But
this has nothing to do with quality, to me this is down to a change in time and
attitude, plus it doesn't actually matter at all...
Kermes are part of the future -
hopefully. Leicester's music scene is in a constant state of ‘re-emergence’.
There are names, venues, and artists doing their bit to grow the city -
Handmade Festival, The Cookie, John Helps to name a few. It’s the four piece
Kermes who engage me the most right now. Their debut album We Choose Pretty Names was released earlier in the year with Leicester based Robot Needs
Home Collective, and recorded by the aforementioned John Helps, also of
Leicester - this is very much a Leicester affair.
I’ll go over the Kermes debut
album some other time, but for now I want to look at the final track, and to me
the standout “Yr Beast”. Here Kermes preach the good word of not adhering to
social norms, projecting ferocious aim at mind, body, and soul positivity.
Specifically lyrically with Emily at the helm, who delivers the hard hitting
lyrics with the level of honesty and conviction most singers dream of.
This is like a modernised ““70s””
pop punk clash of The Cure’s Three Imaginary Boys and Buzzcocks’ Another
Music in Another Kitchen… but with, you know, myspace 2008 indie rock
demos. Infact, Kermes sound more like The Cribs than The Cribs did when forming
as The Cribs. They should without a doubt be playing festivals across the
country - not just the D.I.Y festivals. Ending sets with “Yr Beast” in
confidence that those attending may very well be taking more from a Kermes show
than anything else.
Edward Gibson
