Label: GAEA/PrescriptionPR 2014
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
Reikko. Toimi. Vänskä. Rahkonen. Anttila. A group of killer Goblins and Uruk-Hais from the Tolkien saga? Nah. There's no need for alarm. Koria Kitten Riot simply hail from Helsinki/Finland and these are very traditional names over there. The indie Rock/Pop act recorded their third album, "Rich Men Poor Men Good Men", in Berlin and it was mastered by Doug Van Sloun (First Aid Kit, Bright Eyes, She & Him). It sounds like a million bucks considering the budget and it goes hand in hand with the quirky material and arrangements.
They certainly have the ability to blend Indie Rock with singer/songwriter and quirky folk/country stuff. There's a rather sinister slant to the lyrics as they deal with everything from mass murderer, the sinking Titanic, to the alcoholic violinist and what not really. Exploring the world through other people's eyes and dreams seems to be the main plot here, it's a varied album with many different colours and faces. The story-telling of Reikko works in the old tradition of singer/songwriter and there's plenty of pedal steel, mandolin, and soft keys to be found on this record.
There's really so much variation across the CD that's it's difficult to pin down the sound of Koria Kitten Riot. They claim to take influences from artists such as Elliott Smith, Neutral Milk Hotel? (no, we haven't heard them) and Wilco, but this does not tell the entire story of the band. Have a closer look at the material and you might just pick up everything from Tom Waits to 80's indie pop and laid-back moments such as Everything But The Girl. Overall this is a solid album with excellent production and very decent material indeed.
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