Album Reviews

I honestly have no idea what either the band name or the album title mean, but I can tell you that this Notthingham-based trio are doing a pretty good job of dishing out bare-boned grungy tunes on their latest album, “Urth”.

Armed with rumbling basslines, beefed up drums and the kind of riffs that should come with ripped jeans and a flannel shirt, Kagoule crank out tunes that will make you think of Marcy Playground one second (“Gush”) and Smashing Pumpkins the next (“It Knows It”). Simply calling them a grunge band is cutting them short though, because they have more going for them than just those influences. The dual vocal approach of bassist Lucy Hatter and guitarist Cai Burns along with the occasional unexpected turn work in their favor as well.

They are definitely onto something here, but a couple of less intriguing songs like “Mike” make “Urth” an album that is just short of being truly memorable.