Kosheen - Kokopelli

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Track List: Kokopelli

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Album Details: Kokopelli

Release Date:: 08/05/2003
Label:: Sony Bmg Europe
UPC:: 828765272322

Pro Reviews: Kokopelli

EXPERT RATING:

From AMG Reviews

Putting drum and bass back on the map for the first time since Roni Size four years earlier, Kosheen's debut album Resist was a surprising commercial success back in 2001. Combining dark brooding basslines, highoctane breakbeats and Sian Evans' distinctive vocals, it cleverly managed to appeal to both dance afficionados and mainstream radio, notching up sales of nearly half a million in the process. Followup Kokopelli, named after a mythical Native American flute player, sees the trio ditching their programming tools in favour of guitars to create a more expansive sound that often leans towards gothic rock. It's a puzzling change in direction. The menacing atmospherics may still be intact but with the rough edges that made Resist so intriguing smoothed out, Kokopelli often struggles to move out of second gear. Indeed, the majority of the album follows the same crunching guitars, minimal electronica and doomladen lyrics formula that makes it hard to distinguish one track from another. In Evans, they have one of Britain's most underrated vocalists, her emotive folkrock tones just as powerful and haunting as the more revered Portishead's Beth Gibbons, but even she is unable to rescue the likes of "Avalanche" and "Blue Eyed Boy" from its flat and repetitive production. The album is far more convincing though when it abandons its Evanescencelite attempts at metal. "Coming Home" may be a retread of the epic "Hungry" but its melancholic, acoustic vibe is a welcome change of pace, while lead single "All In My Head," with its upbeat radiofriendly chorus, shows Kosheen are capable of producing great pop with strong melodies. But considering the expectations, Kokopelli is something of a disappointment. Their unique take on the Bristol sound made them one of Britain's most interesting dance acts. But by deciding to pick up their guitars, they've now become just a very ordinary rock band.

- Jon O'Brien, All Music Guide

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Kosheen Biography

The drum'n'bass trio tagged Kosheen molds something sophisticated and complex and their hypnotic break beats took their native U.K. by storm at the close of the '90s. Fronted by Welshborn singer/songwriter Sian Evans and Bristol dance natives Darren ...Full Kosheen Biography