Having an “old soul” has lost its meaning these days: it’s something you say about your little nephew when he uses a big word, or when Anne Hathaway sits up straight at a fancy awards show.
So I’ll say thus: Kitty, Daisy & Lewis don’t have old souls, they’re beyond that. This sibling trio is a home brew of veteran knack, acute grandeur and professional-grade showmanship. Their loose limbs don’t seems to come from inexperience, but out of comfortability of self. And they’re just now soaring out of their teens.
Take HitFix premiere video “Don’t Make a Fool Out of Me,” culled from “Smoking in Heaven,” out today. The clip has the sisters thousand-yard-staring into the spiral abyss, Lewis and his prominently gapped-tooth convincing his lover as so many men have urged theirs: in an illustrious history of romantic follies, please, this time, don’t make a fool out of me. As the black and white clip bounds along, listen for the tub thump of the kick, the snickering guitar line and the depth from which Lewis renders his argument.
Artists like Jimbo Mathus or Adele have taken audiences to whatever musical decade they choose; KD&L’s “Smoking in Heaven” sticks largely to mid-century, from jump blues to Chuck Berry-style rock’n’roll, the soul of the ’60s bowing into the California surf.
It’s not without skill or musical pedigree. Kitty, Daisy & Lewis’ parents are Graeme Durham and Ingrid Weiss, who founded The Exchange recording/mastering studio in London and drums in the Raincoats, respectively. Durham helped lay down the album’s 13 tracks on analog. As the band promoted their last, self-titled album from 2008, they were tapped to open a major sold-out American tour for one of their biggest cheerleaders: Coldplay. Between the three of them, KD&L play more than a dozen instruments, many of which are traded between them live.
Check out “Smoking in Heaven,” out Oct. 25. And watch another video, for “I’m So Sorry,” here.