Premonition K, thankfully, proves that the Dark Side of the Moon has yet to yield its final melody. Kilbey Kennedy is Steve Kilbey of the Church and multi-instrumentalist Martin Kennedy, and they have created a cinematic progressive rock album laced with lyrical wisdom that grinds with a razored eternal edge. Yet Premonition K breathes with acoustic salvation and reveals lunar Mare Orientale musical mystical melodies.
“Breaking the Fourth Wall” opens with an oozy acoustic Pink Floyd guitar pulse, which conflates into a dramatic and introspective electric eruption. Thankfully, Genesis’ “Fly” is still “On the Windshield.” “NCE” gets tough with urgent guitars that grind good coffee, while Steve Kilbey roughs a great vocal. Indeed, “here comes the avalanche.” A quiet guitar interlude stirs the tune into a deeply caffeinated spiraled mocha tailspin.
“The Doctor” follows with a slow acoustic drama that echoes the intricate eye of the hurricane passion of (the great!) Peter Hammill, with solemn strings that mirror any refugee’s relief. To quote Bokonon’s 53rd Calypso: “Nice, Nice, Very Nice.” Thank you, Kurt Vonnegut!
The tension increases. “Nowhere,” again, (with odd voices and a wonderful guitar solo to boot!) is yet another new melody from that dark side of any moon. “That’s Gotta Hurt” soars with more ethereal soft venom. “My Better Half” then confirms Sun Ra’s belief that “space is the place.” The song vibrates with celestial-haloed electric harmonies and the sublime second voice of Leona Gray. This Kilbey Kennedy song flows on its psych cushion of rarified air.
“The Ouija Board” ventures into deeper space with the deft air of lysergic wisdom strung between imagined wormholes’ eerie melodies. Ditto for the keyboard-immersed “Menace in the Past” that echoes with the vibe of a pretty good ghost story.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, but more importantly, Steve Kilbey hasn’t jettisoned his past. “Whispered Voices on Tape” recalls the Church’s post-punk arty vibe. The same is true for the wide-open cinema sound of “The King,” which condenses immense thoughtful space into a big surf melody.
“The Contender” shakes a post-punk fist with a defiant punch, which still manages to float on a dreamy Milky Way canvas. The final tune, “The Song That Wrote Itself,” is music in motion, “seeking patterns in random information,” which, as once was said, is “A Song to Go …”
In keeping with Kilbey Kennedy’s previous Jupiter 13 and The Strange Life of Persephone Nimbus albums, Premonition K continues through a lunar prismatic charm, with music created by “magicians,” thankfully, who are “still among the spirits.” As said, “Nice, nice, very Nice.”
- Kilbey Kennedy – ‘Premonition K’ (2024) - July 1, 2024
- Focus – ‘Focus 12’ (2024) - June 25, 2024
- Elaine Palmer – ‘Half Moon Rising’ (2024) - May 23, 2024
