A krill is a small, unassuming shrimp like crustacean preyed upon by larger creatures of the deep. Kriller by Seas of Mirth, unlike Thriller, the best selling dance floor filler, lies happily nearer an aquatic themed disco than a Neverland inspired theme park. First impression is that there is a lot going on, especially in the first half. Things calm down by the midway point before picking up steam in the second. Playing wise the eighteen legged groove machine that has emerged from Nottingham is happily passenger free even if it is more backroom at a Yates wine lodge than Studio54 (krill krazy after all these beers…). The usual suspects are all prescient and correct – squelchy Moogy type noises, phat phunky basslines, stabs of brass. There is even a bazooki lurking amongst the samples. Despite trawling a most singular trench these waterboys (and girl) are seemingly having a whale of a time, free to express themselves whilst remaining slaves to whatever time signature they’re er, slaves to.
And what a lot of time signatures there are – Opener Dig Out the Moves sets the pace by successfully rhyming moves with grooves and having set the bar doesn’t let up, doing what openers have done since time immoral, in this instance ushering wallflowers on to the dance floor via (briefly) Afro pop sounding guitar followed by falsetto voices that put me in mind of the boogiest of all boogie Neverland’s, sorry, Wonderlands. That’s the one inhabited by Earth Wind and Fire, which is ironic what with water being the missing element. Throughout vocals tend to be a little submerged in the mix or perhaps its my speakers or maybe my ears needed time to acclimatise, which is a shame as the snatches I made out are interesting (in a good way) – for instance the repetition of etcetera and one song, the metronomically persuasive samba-tastic Tiki – Tak which is in French – which the French excelled at, at least until they discovered Europop.
The press release invites the listener to imagine this LP as a non stop underworld disco. When The Night Knight Comes has the type of time signature that would tie even the most determined dad dancer up in knots. Amphibious Remedy offers little respite and Ll’l Underworld, whilst lovely would possibly be a step too far for the rhythmically challenged offering as it does little opportunity for limb calibration. Up next is the outrageously catchy Bobbitt, which may or may not be an ode to John and Lorena Bobbitt (look ‘em up pop kids, you won’t be disappointed…) whilst Strange Place For Hiding is quietly lovely and scores a bonus point for (I think) mentioning Jules Verne. Neon Paradise asks whether you’ve got enough rice for your cauliflower curry tonight, possibly one of this years more oblique opening lines and presumably not a euphemism although of course it might well be. Sadly this is a precursor to a somewhat generic slap bass laden funk stew which is a shame as otherwise there’s not much filler on Kriller. It’s a fine line between clever and er, not clever. Kriller stays the right side of it, and it’s good to be in the presence of aural intelligence. For the Seas of Mirth, more lost in music in an everlasting disco than lost at sea (more school of fish than rock) the night goes on (and on (and on (and on))). Seas of Mirth are On tour between October and December this year, full details at seasofmirth.com/gigs.