Somewhere in the lifetime of a political band, inner turmoil can become a more urgent matter to unpack than the chaos of the outside world. For Kid Kapichi, that moment is now. ‘Fearless Nature’ chronicles a rock-bottom moment for vocalist Jack Wilson after an eight-year relationship ended, his mental health nosedived and his band began to splinter, culminating in the departures of guitarist Ben Beetham and drummer George Macdonald last summer. Unsurprisingly, the political crackle of old has been papered over by deep melancholy.
There’s only one real glance towards a world on fire, and that’s across the gloomy, clanging opener Leader Of The Free World. “Turns out the first one was better than the sequel,” sighs Wilson, contemplating Donald Trump’s return. But the focus soon switches: “I’m so worthless / take my spirit / yeah, you’ve earned it.”
Despite the difference in tone, there’s still a common thread between this version of the Hastings punks and their roots.
Intervention’s adrenaline-fuelled scuzz and frantic pace make it an early highlight, followed by the darkly electronic Shoe Size. The witty, bass-driven Stainless Steel, in particular, contains a dash of the Kapichi of old.
Evidently, however, there’s only so long they can mine upbeat songs from their misery. The second half of the album, starting with the morose Dark Days Are Coming, begins to plod and never truly picks back up.
Head Right is bluntly resigned. “I can’t seem to get my head right / I don’t think I’m sleeping tonight,” admits Wilson, before eulogising his lost relationship on the skeletal ballad Saviour: “You had me stumbling / You had me grieving.”
In the end, it becomes dreary. Aside from 2022’s brilliantly acerbic Party At Number 10, ballads have never been Kid Kapichi’s strength, meaning that the album is almost weaker by design. ‘Fearless Nature’ isn’t bad by any stretch, but it’s a work suited to very specific occasions — those depressing days when you need your music to sob along with you. Ultimately, it was the album they needed to make, but two things can be true at once — it was necessary, but that doesn’t make it their best.
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