I AM KLOOT

Natural History [WeLoveYou]

A surprising debut from this Mancunian trio, because despite the Britpop inklings – the jangling guitars, the anglo-angled drawl of singer John Bramwell with occasional Morrissey-like turns of phrase – Natural History is such an incredibly vital and immediate piece of work.

Although not as willfully bizarre as their name might suggest, I Am Kloot do possess an essential oddness, a strange slanting sarcastic edge tempered with a welcome touch of casual eccentricity. Bramwell’s lyrics have a biting sense of urgency, although most of his tales are told within a world of weariness, tumbling out of a heavy heart and a hungover head.

While ‘Bigger Wheels’, ‘Storm Warning’ and ‘Twist’ dish out a bellyful of caustic sentiments, the album is warmed by the resonant guitars and brassy vocals on uplifting serenades like ‘To You’, and intensely intimate confessions of ‘Dark Star’ and ‘Because’, with its desperate, joyous plea of “Kill me before you die, because I love you.”

Although their style suggests fleeting memories of bands like the Bluetones or Shed Seven, who you might once have had some time for, but who (let’s be honest here) you probably wouldn’t even spit on now, I Am Kloot are a band who you could love forever. Just expect some trouble in paradise.

Fiona Reid