Kincaid
Plays Super Hawaii
Kindercore Records

Oh, yeah, yet another band from the outskirts of friends and relations connected to the Elephant 6 "collective" (well, they're not really part of the E6 family, but in mood...), and I simply have to check them out. Athens, GA, and/or Brooklyn, NY quintet Kincaid took their little guitars, drums, and a variety of instruments, stuffed the stashed among swimming and surfing clothing, and went to Hawaii to record their second album. Sun-tanned pop, why not? Scuba-doo!

Kincaid play songs of the bent and twisted type, recorded onto portable equipment that focus on catching the feel-good atmosphere more than the better fidelity. Solid, Jackson sets the mood brilliantly, before Super Hawaii pops out and hits the waves outside the golden beach. With a good hearted energy and a ba-ba-bah! chorus the young and jangly Beach Boys (of the back-packer type) have arrived! There are more songs in where you can "hear" Beach Boys harmonies, such as California, Bells Will Ring, There's an Ocean, and How Long Has it Been. On the other hand, if you're into the music of Apples in Stereo, the Minders, Spent, Van Pelt, Ladybug Transistor and such, I guess you'll be in good company with this gang as well. Kincaid have brought a lot of instruments along, including horns, stylophone(!), banjo, and glockenspiel. Additional performances have been added by a number of contributors; on vibraphone, viola, and cellos, giving the album quite a folky touch on many of the songs. Even though they pop a lot, they also slow down, such as on the nice Parachute and Semi-circle. While they go for a strange ride with Tyme Machine. Maybe to the year 2012, which "will be the year" as stated on the album cover.

While they went to the western outpost of the USA for recording, the album is closing with a song named after the other exotic state not United with the others: Alaska. A fine (and chilled) stopover on the way home. I'm charmed. Aloha!

Copyright © 2000 Håvard Oppøyen