THE KAHUNAS – Go! (own label)

In the way a fiddle tends to flag folk music to the casual observer, Exmoor based the Kahunas are a folk band in much the same way as are the Levellers or Ferocious Dog. Or, given the stripped back nature of the duo, maybe more in the vein of festival favourites, 3 Daft Monkeys. Which is to say, not always a lot, but we are a broad church and they are as likely to pop up alongside any of the above, as in a local pub or village hall. And, if they are booked to play at Sidmouth, which they are, who is to quibble?

Tash and Brian are the Kahunas, and they live in a van. Described as offering “hypnotic wah-wah driven violin riffs, on top of a driving dance beat” with “melodic harmonies and vocals, original lyrical content and digeridoo loops”, it sounds intriguing, eh? And it isn’t that bad a description, either. Go! is, I believe, their second release, following an eponymous debut, nearly two years back.

It all kicks off with a tinkly strum, up at the high notes of a guitar, ahead becoming a spikier deep throated thrash, all acoustic. Some Balkan campfire fiddle snakes in, a stompbox stomps and some hollered vocal questioning begins: “Wanna go?” This is the title track, which leads into a shouty chorus of affirmation. Repeat x2, and it is more an opening statement than much else. Quite hypnotic, mind, courtesy the rhythm.

The scene set, ‘Sunglasses’ follows, something the duo are fond of, judging by the cover shot. The song, and the subject, has me immediately drawn back to the Timbuk 3. Remember ‘The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades)’? I’m uncertain if the thrust of this song is the same, but it carries a similar vibe and is a second rousing stomp. Tash’s fiddle is an effective backdrop, and I am guessing it is the digeridoo giving the drone down in the basement.

‘Cool Kids’ bemoans their absence, ahead also questioning the whereabouts of all the hardcore ravers. Again, more a chant or, to be more generous, a sea shanty, nonetheless it is a catchy and engaging tune. I am uncertain if the “cool kids” are the peers or protagonists of the Kahunas. Brian’s voice seldom stretches, but fits the lyric in a vaguely Hugh Cornwell sneeriness, which may be a clue. Is that jaw’s harp pushing the song along, or more digeridoo?  Irrespective, I like.

Just as this is beginning to suggest they are more about mantras than melodies, along come a couple of tracks to prove me wrong. A couple of songs, with proper constructions: verses and chorus, middle eights, all of that. The first of these, ‘Drinking In The Sun’ has just the sort of tune you might catch the Levellers wanting to borrow, in an acoustic show. Reminiscent also of Dodgy’s ‘Staying Out For The Summer’, It riffs on the double meaning of the title, i.e. enjoying the sun or bibulous enjoyment in the sun. The fiddle is more to the fore, and it is all very catchy.

‘Daffodils’, which follows, is far more down-key, with a feel of end of days encroaching, despite it seeming to be a love song and celebrating the end of winter. Nonetheless, it carries mournful melodicism well, with an attractively rolling mechanical drum beat throughout, together with blips of sonar. Harmony singing shows they can, and it vies with the track ahead as the standout.

‘The Horse’, however troubles me, as it contains so many aspects I don’t like. The sprechgesang vocal, about boredom, shouldn’t appeal, yet, oddly, maybe by virtue the spaghetti western arrangement, and a rhyme of “bone” with “Post Malone”, it had me smiling. The longest track, at 5 ½ minutes, after a while it loses much of the exhortations to get back on the titular, becoming an almost affectionate earworm, brimming with clumsy chutzpah.

‘Bonnie & Clyde’ is a little too much in debt to ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’/’Pump it up’, take your pick, if then transcending that with the chorus, and some textural fiddle parts. Better by far, and possibly so far, is ‘Friday Night’, which proves that even these guys have their soppy and sentimental side. Wooey wooey backing vocals, from Tash, usher in Brian in his best voice. Elegantly maudlin, there is no hint of mawkishness, and the arrangement gradually builds, layer by layer. Even when a clip clop percussion suddenly arrives, with little warning, it becomes immediately stamped into the essential fabric of the song. The mood remains true and undiverted.

Nominally that is that. However, my copy, and the Bandcamp version too, has a tenth track, a bonus track, that point made clear by the brackets. I suppose it is supposed to be a banger, but I can’t work out whether it is affectionate or mocking around the subject. ‘The Ketamine Kid’, it is called, and that is neither a subject nor a substance I condone, having seen too much of the longterm effects on individuals, however “amusingly” it might make you dance. (Frankly, the Kahunas look a bit old for it, too.)

All in all, Go! is an album more good than bad. There are at least three absolute belters, and most of the others, in a live setting would raise up and go down a storm. Particularly at a festival, after hours, one the mainstage has closed for the night. I’d like to see them in that setting and, one day, maybe will.

Seuras Og  

Artists’ website: www.thekahunas.net

‘Drinking In The Sun’ (selected by Seuras as one of the bangers):

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