Cardiff based band The Keys release their first full length album Bitten By Wolves on 2nd May through See Monkey Do Monkey Recordings.
Since receiving a copy in the post we have been playing it a lot – an awful lot. It is a record that cleverly mixes 60s inspired psych rock and crunchy guitars with some more modern style jangle pop and some tasty reverb – clever because the results are not derivative or formulaic, but rather create a cohesive whole that captures the imagination and holds it throughout the duration of the album. There are some obvious touchpoints in Beefheart, Can and Spirit and perhaps some less obvious ones in The Coral and The Bees.
From the melancholy twang of the opening title track through the retro riffing of Teacher’s Daughter to the sleazy pulse of Everyone Loves You, The Keys have crafted a record that is as confident in its roots as it is assured of its future, and one that I’m pretty certain we’ll be coming back to a lot more over the coming months.
Check out the excellent track The Colour Red, a song to make White Denim or Tame Impala jealous…
You can pre-order Bitten By Wolves here.
Download The Keys – The Colour Red mp3 (from Bitten By Wolves)
The Mad Mackerel 