In typically bizarre Bearsuit Records fashion, Whizz Kid’s two protagonists are described as a Banjo playing Scot called Yo-yo Nielsen and a windsurfing Belgian named J-Kane. In even more typical Bearsuit fashion, their first album ‘There’s Conjuring To Be Done’ is as unorthodox as the band members’ backgrounds and can loosely be described as exotic instrumental music.
So if we’re prepared to expect the unexpected, ‘Clones’ opens predictably with wind chimes, triangle, brass sections and thick beats. Somewhere within this melee is a tune. Certainly an oddball tune but a tune nonetheless. Unsurprisingly it’s the melodic strength which is the key to the good stuff. The wonderfully strange ‘Summer Bubbles’ is kept in check by a rolling piano melody and even though it is accompanied by xylophone, babies’ cries and abrasive techno, it’s as hooky as hell. ‘Falling Out Of Trees, Falling Out Down Hills’ is one of four tracks which made up 2012’s ‘Covered In Santa Wheels’ EP and both this piece and ‘Charly Stories’ resemble a band running amok in a shop of toy instruments. On this always vibrant album only ‘Burlington’ overdoes the experimentation; a discordant sound clash too far perhaps. However, when that thirst for something new bears fruit, such as the mixtures of cosmopolitan influences on the stop-start ‘Ballade A Chaud Fontaine’, Nielsen and Kane are a delight to listen to.
If you’re after an instrumental record full of quirks but balanced by warmth and hooks, let Whizz Kid take you on their gloriously oddball journey; stopping off at Cornelius crossing, Anja Garbarek station, Zoon van snooK junction and BBC Radiophonic Workshop Central en route. Magic will surely ensue along the way.
Web Sites:
Bandcamp Stream for Whizz Kid – There’s Conjuring To Be Done
Bearsuit Records Label Site
Further Listening:
Anja Garbarek, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Cornelius, Zoon van snooK
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