Avant-garde DIY project Kling Klang are one of the most exciting acts emerging from Liverpool’s underground scene right now. Toying with a concoction of experimental sounds, the collective has spent the last four years reinventing itself through the melodies of frantic keys, bassy electronica, buzzing synths and gothic arrangements.
Originally founded by Joe McLaughlin, Amy Corcoran and Peter Smyth, over the years, King Klang has shape-shifted its lineup and is currently composed of Part Chimp members McLaughlin and Jonny Hamilton, alongside a selection of other contributors.
Half Life, explores post-punk through a different lens. In a tracklist of ten beautifully and oddly orchestrated pieces, the group explore a synth-heavy and hypnotic alternate universe where the power of instrumentals is enough to tell moving stories.
Album standout, ‘Tone Defeat’ is a beautiful track paying homage to the band’s unique individuality. Behind every whimsical synth is an oddly haunting sensation that lingers underneath. Standing just over five minutes in length, ‘Tone Defeat’ has multiple layers to it. Each of its transitions feels hopeful, but simultaneously carrying a glimpse of dread. There’s a deep sense of displacement in the frantic key work, and yet an oddly joyous flash of hope in the way the drums and riffs build up from it.
This is a common theme woven throughout the album.There’s a constant roller-coaster notion throughout the record. Each song takes you to pulsating highs through the use of piercing synths, but also dissociating lows, illustrated by the heavy basslines. Somewhere in between lie the moments of repetition.
‘Codan’ sees the collective slow down the pace. It’s a winding down of sorts, a euphoric feeling hinting that the record is coming to an end. The title-track makes for an interesting conclusion. The melodies are technical, imposing and wondrous. And perhaps that’s exactly it, that’s Kling Klang. A wonderful entanglement of mathematical arrangements with spontaneous peaks and troughs intertwined.
With this track the group surprises listeners from the first moment of the lyrics. ‘Half Life’ hits as the perfect climactic finale, capturing the unknown that’s been wired in its nine predecessors. Suddenly, you feel like you’ve completed the album. Mastered each of its levels.
Back, four years after their debut, Half Life presents itself as a really fun follow-up, doubling down on Kling Klang’s experimental tendencies. If you’re new to this realm, Half Life might feel difficult to stick to at first. But the end-point makes it all worth it.
