Kele - The Singing Winds Pt. 3

There’s a fascinating shift in the context which frames ‘The Singing Winds pt. 3’ in relation to its thematic predecessors, last year’s ‘The Flames pt. 2’ and ‘The Waves pt. 1’ almost two years earlier. What began as a project of circumstance for Kele – working solo with time to ruminate during the Covid lockdowns – now finds itself sandwiched between huge Bloc Party live dates, the UK indie stalwarts visibly rejuvenated with a new – and increasingly international – audience having discovered their back catalogue. Creating a record single-handedly on his guitar has gone from necessity to choice; now, his solo material can sit alongside his band rather than in place of it. Within this framing, there’s a playfulness on show that perhaps hasn’t been linked to Kele’s work previously. Quite literally, a child’s voice opens the record with “It’s the start of the show” and later peppers throughout the hypnotically bluesy ‘Kintsugi’ with its repeated mantra of “It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes”. ‘Money Trouble’ offers the delightful Britishism “I’m going out out” before ascending into an approximation of club beats – think Disclosure by way of The xx, while the subtle-yet-persistent earworm that ‘Day And Night’ offers channels the sparkly keys of Joy Division’s ‘Atmosphere’ while a clubby beat pulses. It feels almost full-circle, tying Bloc Party’s brand of post-punk with Kele’s more club-focused solo work. It’s not all big-hitters, though. ‘The Arrangement’ is painfully lyrically unsubtle, while ‘Libra Aquarius Gemini’ and ‘Hometown Edge’ feel limited by their inception, as if they need an extra gear to truly shine. And therein lies the crux: as an exercise, a flexing of musical muscles, ‘The Singing Winds pt. 3’ is interesting enough so long as you’re only seeking bops as a bonus.