David Kitt
Small Moments
Rough Trade

You're lying in long grass by a beach with the sun shining down, you're safe and warm. The everyday lows and highs of life are floating out to sea and the tide only sends tranquility back. You gently fall asleep. Peace.

Now obviously the vast majority of you that read this are not going to be in this position but the state described above can be achieved with the first long player from Dublin born artist David Kitt. His debut albums weighs in at just over 40 minutes containing seven tracks. If the reactions to his intimate gigs around Dublin were anything to go by, Kitt had a huge expectation on his shoulders. Normally such pressures result in enough over-enthusiasm and over-production to knock you out. This temptation to succumb to such methods is resisted but has the same effect as the former. The first time playing the album, the realisation is that this is one for night time. I find myself asleep within the first two songs and have to start the album on the third track the next night to hear the rest of the album.

If you couple the vocals of Red House Painter, Mark Kozelek with the acoustic plucks of Nick Drake, you start to get the effect of this album. From opener There are Words to closing song "Headphones", so mellow are the songs with gentle beats of the Casio and melodic guitar pluck, the vocals so closely sung to the microphone you can hear him draw back the air between lines to create the effect that there is a small band playing in the corner of the room. The are songs of heartbreak and affectionate devotion, epitomised by Another Love Song, duetted with Kitt's 10 year old brother - flowing enough to make Stina Nordenstam sound like the shouting eyebrows from Stereophonics. Whereas this album is good it does not sound like the summation of what Kitt can do given more time and funding to dwell on his success. We should, however, be thankful for small mercies.

Save yourself the bus fare to the seaside and buy this album, same effect.

Copyright © 2000 Colm Downes