Kitty, Daisy & Lewis - Smoking In Heaven

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis is a band that doesn’t sound like anyone else right now. And in the saturated London music market, this is probably a good thing. Their American rockabilly sound was first truly introduced to the public on their eponymous album released in 2008 on Rob da Bank’s Sunday Best label. On their new album, ‘Smoking In Heaven’, the Durham siblings continue their campaign of recording ’50s-sounding ditties, to mostly okay, if not terribly memorable, effect.

On an otherwise dated-sounding album, standing out somewhat like a sore thumb is ‘Messing With My Life’, the most modern track on this album. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing: it’s an injection of freshness. It would feel at home in a present day, female jazz vocalist’s catalogue. ‘Tomorrow’ is a jaunty ska number and pure fun (Madness fans, where are you? Come out of the woodwork).

Of the 13 tracks on here, there are three instrumentals. ‘Paan Man Boogie’ sounds like regular dancehall floor filler; you can imagine people kicking up their heels to this. Title track / album closer ‘Smoking In Heaven’ features harmonica and bluesy guitar. ‘What Quid?’ doesn’t fare as well, sounding more like a boring continuous loop. You get the feeling it could have been so much more.

‘Will I Ever’ and ‘I’m So Sorry’ / ‘I’m Going Back’ (a previously released, double A-sided single) are jazzy, cutesy numbers. Cutesy to the point they might grate on your nerves. Probably on purpose, ‘I’m So Sorry’ is immediately followed by ‘You’ll Be Sorry’, its darker, vengeful counterpart. While the former is a woman’s conciliatory thoughts, the latter is merely the telling off a man, ‘you blew it, big time.’ Unfortunately, what’s missing here in this song (and pretty much all of ‘Smoking in Heaven’) is true emotion. It’s all easily consumed upon first listen. But will you return to partake in the buffet for a second time?