KURO MUSIC – Neon EP

Glasgow.

Home of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Stone the Crows and Gun. Birthplace of AC/DCs Malcolm and Angus Young, Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and of course, Scots/Australian singer Jimmy Barnes. The ‘Dear Green Place’ can also lay claim to the success of Travis, Glasvegas, Twin Atlantic, Franz Ferdinand and Biffy Clyro whilst talented, up-and-coming local bands Mason Hill and Anchor Lane show that it still has a lot to offer the world’s rock fans.

So, it’s fair to say that Glasgow has played its part (and continues to play a vital role!) in the story of rock music.

Kuro is another young, Glaswegian band trying to etch its name in the city’s rich musical history with their 4-track debut EP, ‘Neon’. Described in the press release as being “filled with angst, energy and eyeliner” and delivering “an aggressive synthesizer-driven sound over dynamic beats”, it certainly sounded like the band could bring something different to my ears. Different is good. After all, does the music world really need another singer-songwriter crooning over an acoustic guitar??

As well as being the band name, Kuro is also the enigmatic frontman, lead singer and electronic sound-wiz. A multi-instrumentalist with tattoos and eyeliner, he can be described as looking like goth, emo, 80s pop and metal all merged into one! Kuro is joined in spearheading this electronic/industrial project by bassist J.B. Storm, who at first glance could pass for a younger Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue! Interestingly, the line-up is completed by two names already well known as up-and-coming talent in the Glasgow music scene; guitarist Kieran Robertson (who is currently touring the world with former Queensryche singer Geoff Tate’s band, Operation Mindcrime) and Mason Hill drummer Craig McFetridge. With such a mix of talent, the 4 tracks on the ‘Neon’ EP could surely stick out in Glasgow’s current music scene?! This would be an interesting listen.

Opening track ‘Don’t Stop’ (Give It To Me) starts with an electronic sound over a dance-music-like bass drum beat heard in nightclubs throughout the world in the 1990s. Initially evoking long buried memories of horrific dance music I had to endure in Ayr’s famous Club De Mar circa 1999, relief was found 30 seconds in when Robertson’s guitar and J.B. Storm’s bass kicked the song into life. Driven by a strong bass line that sounds like an idling chainsaw and complemented by a standard hard rock/metal rhythm guitar, this is quite a powerful start. Different… but powerful. I found myself humming along to the chorus on second listen, something that indicates just how catchy a song actually is. Kuro’s vocals aren’t quite what I expected. There’s a Marilyn Manson quality to them, lower in range and quite menacing sounding. It’s exactly what the song requires.

‘Mirrors’ is the second track, with drummer McFetridge making his mark from the outset on this one; hard hitting yet controlled when required whilst changing tempo effortlessly. As the vocals start, surrounded by synthesized sounds, I’m reminded of a long forgotten, one-hit-wonder band from the 90s called Babylon Zoo who had a number one with a song called Spaceman. Kuro is a much harder, heavier sounding band and their songs have much more structure but as the heavy repeated guitar riffs kick in for the chorus, comparisons are justified. Certainly not obvious… but justified. There’s a fantastic head banging rock out bridge section just before the 3 minute mark, Kieran Robertson’s repeated riff on the lower end of the scale perfectly complemented by the aforementioned hard hitting drums of McFetridge and steady, driving bass of J.B. Storm.

Third track ‘Neon Demon’ bursts to life with synthesizers accompanied by drums, sounding very much like the intro to Robert Tepper’s No Easy Way Out from the Rocky IV soundtrack! But that’s where comparisons to such soft rock ends as it’s heavy all the way from this point on. On this track, Kuro created a sound that German industrial metal band Rammstein would’ve be proud of around the time of their Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da album. It’s fair to say that’s there’s not a lot of singing on this track. It’s pretty much Kuro talking his way through the lyrics… but to be honest, singing in the normal sense would would’ve completely killed this song! It’s the sinister sounding talking-style vocals that make it so interesting and unique.

The EP closes with final track ‘Tear It Down’, my personal favourite track and one I think would excel in a live setting. The vocals are probably at their clearest on this track, every angst filled word audible as Kuro pretty much rhymes and raps his way through the verses, only verging on singing in the conventional sense at the chorus, sneering “Tear it all down. Burn it to the ground”. The synthesizers are used to full effect, with a catchy loop that starts the song being repeated throughout. Robertson’s guitar appears more prominent in the mix on this track with J.B. Storm’s rough sounding, chainsaw bass matching the rhythm guitars perfectly.

It’s good to hear a young band trying to be unique. All too often, new music is just a re-tread of what has already been done a million times before. I fully expected this industrial music project to sound incredibly similar to the genre’s pioneers Nine Inch Nails, yet at no time did I feel this when listening to the Neon EP. If anything, Kuro’s sound is much nearer to that of Rammstein, yet still original enough to make it difficult to pigeon-hole. It would be interesting to see the band in a live setting, as the music appears tailor-made to be played full volume to an audience. I’m sure that Kuro himself would be quite the energetic frontman on stage!

I have no doubt that Kuro are still experimenting with their sound and have a feeling that they haven’t quite fully settled on a set direction yet. I can certainly hear what they’re trying to do, even if it’s maybe not quite there yet. That’s to be expected at such an early stage in a band’s life. However, if they continue to work hard and sound as unique as they do on this EP, they might just very well earn that place in Glasgow’s musical history book.

Kuro is certainly different and pushing boundaries. Remember… different is good.