Singles

Kid Adrift - Oxytocin

Nick Lewis 12/08/2010

Rating: 3/5

Do three tracks constitute an EP? It seems that in this age of infinite a la carte iTunes downloads they do. I remember when you could buy a CD single in Woolworths sometimes with as many as seven tracks on them. Admittedly, most of them would be karaoke versions and awful remixes, but you certainly got your £3.99's worth.

Taxonomical questions aside, this debut EP from Kid Adrift is a decent enough slab of industrial-pop. Iain Archer (the man 'behind' Kid Adrift i.e. is Kid Adrift - and may we hope he returns safely soon) comes across as a sunnier Trent Reznor but with less vision, sloppier Pro Tools chops and a penchant for fast, twiddly Chopin style arpeggios on synths that make his music come across like the triumphant ending to a computer game set in a factory.

It's not as bad as it sounds. The opening seconds of the title track do sound uncannily like Nine Inch Nails, but it lacks the visceral, brutal energy of the industrial pioneers; and although Mr. Reznor may need to start acting his age, at least his pain is believable. Archer sounds like he had a bad day and took it out on his drum machines.

To get away with making this kind of music in this day and age, you have to do it with absolute conviction and an unremitting depth. It's a fairly decent set, and despite what I've said is actually quite enjoyable, and closer 'Static' has some of the best "yeah" samples and jungle breaks I've ever heard; but it lacks the guts of whatever distortion plug-in is being used on the drums.

Release Date: Out Now