The Kite Eating Tree - Method: Fail, Repeat...

The first thing I have to say about The Kite Eating Tree is that their name totally threw me off. The Kite Eating Tree sounds playful and fun. I’m picturing something you’d hear from K Records, songs about picnics in the park, or throwing frisbees, innocent fun, that sort of thing. When I decided to review this band, I was very much in the mood for innocent playful pop tunes. I popped in Method: Fail, Repeat... and well, was kind of taken aback. The first term that popped into my mind? “Post-Punk.” Now, I’m not a big fan of genres, especially in this day and age when it seems people are racing to come up with the newest niche genre. (The easiest way to do so is to add “Post,” “Nu” or “Core” to a word or already existing genre of your choice.) Post-punk is a genre I feel particularly uncomfortable with. Until now, I could only throw one band into the category with confidence, that band being Les Savy Fav. I don’t know what made them Post-Punk, I don’t even know if they really ARE post-punk, I just knew that whenever I heard someone say “post-punk,” Les Savy Fav came to mind. Well, they’ve just been dethroned as “The only post-punk band that exists in my mind” simply because I like The Kite Eating Tree Better than Les Savy Fav. Anyway, “Softer Seems The Pavement,” the first song on Method Fail Repeat... came on with it’s jarring guitars and all hope of jangly, fun-in-the-sun went out the window. With a deep breath, I decided to fully embrace the world of angst and angular guitar lines. I was listening to too much happy music anyway, and with What The Heck? Fest over and done with, I figured it was time to get a little serious anyway. At first, I wasn’t really into it. Nothing about it really stood out. But soon, walking around work, I found myself singing some of these songs to myself, particularly their repeating, distorted backing vocals.. Since then, the album has been in my cd player quite regularly. Honestly, at one point I was even jumping around my room, and ok, that makes me look kinda lame, but a band that can make you jump around in your room is not to be easily dismissed. What the Kite Eating Tree manages to accomplish here, is create a sense of urgency/frustration/anxiety that many emo bands shoot for. While those bands end up sounding cheesy and contrived, The Kite Eating Tree comes off as sincere. While sometimes it’s hard to decipher what their lyrics are trying to say, the emotion is still clearly implied musically. But it’s not emo, remember? It’s post-punk. The difference? I’m not sure I could say, since both genres are a bit hazy and blurred. It’s in the attitude I’d suppose. While those in the emo crowd attempt to empathize with the sad and lonely-hearted, the post-punkers are just there to rock out with a little passion. I don’t know; I hate genres, I’m just totally digging this cd. [www.thekiteeatingtree.com]