Strange Ways introduces a new band (not completely as they already released two more records on another label) and this time not a synthpop band but a very modern guitarpop/rock band named Ken. Not just one but two albums are released at the same time. One with songs written by the band ( Stop! Look! Sing Songs of Revolutions! ) and one with covers ( I am Thief).
Ken sounds a bit like a Britpop group even though some tracks have a louder guitar sound. Overall Ken is like a mixture of Placebo, Franz Ferdinand and a bit of happy and catchy Blur in it. The songs are very well written and have catchy and smooth refrains. Especially the songs on Stop! Look! Sing Songs of Revolutions! have a lot of potential to hit the mainstream charts.
Too bad the most songs on I am Thief are just covers and didn’t become songs of the band. There is no real cohesion in the cover album. It is a collection of songs nothing more. Some of the tracks are done very well like ’Your Ghost’ from Kristin Hersh and ‘Only Shallow’ from My Bloody Valentine, but they are too close to the original to add something extra.
These two cd’s are a good introduction to the band Ken for those who didn’t know them already. For sure this is a band that will make it in the mainstream pop world in time.