Judging only from band name and EP title, this neatly packaged piece of music is promising a whole lot of indie fun, and also quite possibly trouble.
The Edinburgh four-piece that brought you Dirty Honey way back in 2011 are following up one success with another, and doing it beautifully with a kung fu kick in the face.
This is the band that makes grunge funk not nearly as awful as as it sounds.
The instant appeal of Dirty Honey can be traced to its obvious homemade, jamming-out-in-the-garage sort of sound.
It feels hearty, handcrafted, if somewhat unpolished; or, like the polish has sure been smeared on but the edges are still untrimmed and ragged.
With Super 8 Flashback it’s clear Kung Fu Academy have grown and gained both experience and confidence through the last two years of touring.
Being the band that claims to have played more gigs than rehearsals, they’ve effectively made a name for themselves by having a distinct live sound that echoes well, even on record.
Having the debut played through headphones could easily make it feel like you were having the band play right there in your living room.
The difference with Super 8 Flashback is it now feels less like the band are jamming out just off behind you, and more like being stood in the front-row, staring them right in the face and having live sound wash over you.
Super 8 Flashback is a concert happening in real time.
And it sounds like, well, a bit of everything.
Not exactly known for being tied down to a single genre of music, Kung Fu Academy are happily playing around with sleazy rock as well as eighties disco.
It’s a juxtaposition of dirty, gritty guitars and smooth funk well beyond the band’s years, like a combination of your dad’s record collection and the sort of stuff you’ll find on an up-to-date NME mixtape.
‘Sally’ comes at you with a wall of clean, heavy guitar strokes that would make you dribble if you lacked the self control; the title track is gleaming of indie nostalgia with a new, intense depth; and timeless ‘The Long Fall’ with its air of fast-paced mystery resonating bands like Franz Ferdinand and Casual Sex bears witness that the band is destined for great things.
It still sounds a bit ragged and handcrafted in places, yes, but it’s also enormously honest.
Kung Fu Academy hosts an eclectic musical pallet, and they know how best to use it.
Already oozing with the qualities of a classic, it’s sometimes hard to believe this is fresh off the press.
It isn’t history in the making, it’s history made future.
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Word: Josefin Bagge
