I recently joined the music team of our university's newspaper, Spark*. My first review was of solo artist Kiria and her album Radio. I really liked it!
London-based solo artist Kiria is on track to bring back positive views of ‘pop-punk.’ Backed by a four piece band, she has already received rave reviews, not only for her recorded work, but for her live performances too.
Album opener Radio, with its heavy riffs and catchy drumbeats, is a song which can easily be imagined as a stadium anthem. Kiria opens the song with the “I can’t turn switch my radio on, I can’t stand the tunes,” which sums up her preference for older tunes over the hits of today. Radio gives us a great impression for the rest of the album, which doesn’t disappoint, especially with Fussy Girl. With the main hook as “I’m not one of those fussy, fussy girls,” this seems set to be a future fun, girly, sing-a-long anthem.
Lead single Jelly Baby is the perfect mix of girl power pop and energetic punk. Instantly recognisable as another future sing-a-long, it packs beefy guitar riffs from the start. Teamed with innocent vocals, including a round of “bababadada,” a hit record is made. This is followed by Love Song, a piano and violin collaboration, something which is not often seen in the charts these days. It’s a sweeter, more low key track, providing a calming break in the album. It also gives us a chance to see a different side of Kiria.
The album finishes on the rockier Live Sex on Stage. A collaboration with comedian Paul Kaye, this brings out the punk influences that Kiria often refers to. The track is raw, fresh and brilliantly neat whilst still encapturing the essence of pop-punk, with lyrics such as “just make sure your knickers get seen.” It’s a great, fun end to the album.
Radio is released on Koochie Coo Records on 25th October.
4/5
