Kill Your Darlings

You’d think, with a fondness for titles as grim as ‘Three Feet High Reefer’ and ‘Here Comes The Munchies’, and an album sleeve featuring a close-up of a young woman with her hand down the front of her skirt, that Paris-based Kid Loco would be the kind of nu-jock who spends his evenings wearing out ‘Freddie Got Fingered’ DVDs and po-going alone to Blink 182.

But you’d be wrong.

His first LP A Grand Love Story was a lush, romantic record that, despite being overshadowed (understandably enough) on its release by Air’s Zhivago-esque Moon Safari, still managed to pull some notable attention his way – with the likes of Pulp and Mogwai subsequently trailing him in for smart remixing duties.

Kill Your Darlings may not carry the widescreen sheen of his debut album, but Loco displays a laidback savvy here – full of stoned beats, campfire chords and knowing sing-a-longs – that has more in common with St Etienne’s eye-twinkling retro pop than the nouvelle discothèque of many of his compatriots.

Main vocals are shared between Louise Quinn and Departure Lounge’s Tim Keegan – both of whom take great pains to sound laconically nondescript. All of which helps to sustain the pleasantly narcoleptic mood throughout.

Well done our Kid. Although I’ve heard madder.