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Kerbside– ‘Aything Strange’
by Adrian Cusack, Longford Leader
"I guess that I'll be travelling on again," sings Sean Lightholder on Kerbside's impressive debut album 'Anything Strange'. This is a recurring theme during the album, and it's something the band knows all about.
Originally from California, married couple Sean and Kim Lightholder moved to Athlone three years ago. America's loss has certainly been Ireland's gain, as the pair have toured this country and beyond as Kerbside, playing their infectious brand of acoustic folk-rock to an increasing number of followers.
'Anything Strange' was recorded in the Lightholders' living room, and perfectly captures their sound. Over polished acoustic guitars, Sean's deep voice (part-country-and-western, part-rock'n'roll) leads the way on most of the songs. Kim, a gifted vocalist in the vein of Joan Baez, provides a captivating accompaniment.
The album starts off on uneven footing with 'Mahal Ko'. To these ears it sounds like a song which - despite having a lot of potential - has not been captured at its best here. It's like a profound dream the band had one night but couldn't quite remember the following morning. Things are firmly on track with the second song, the assured 'Departure', and from then on the band never looks back. All but one of the songs were written by Sean, and he proves a fine songwriter with a neat turn of phrase.
On the atmospheric 'College Town', he observes "the protests and the preachers turn the empty steps to bleachers at night when the drummers play".
The interplay between the vocalists impresses most on the excellent 'How Far', while the album's only cover song - 'Indian Dance' - ends proceedings on an upbeat note.
'Anything Strange' serves as a fine introduction to Kerbside, a band we will hopefully be hearing more about in future.
Rating: 8/10