Klee — Kill Your Darlings

Under the rubble of the fallen empire, a nugget. New Austrian indie prodigy Klee took everyone by surprise. Not that the group was born in unfamiliar territory – we all remember the hard-skinned rockers of Rentokil, Summoning and Verbannten Kinder Evas. But only six months went by between the meeting of the musicians on the benches of the University of Klagenfurt and the release of their first album. The brilliance of the "Klee" phenomenon is all the more remarkable because it is based on a maturity unusual in such youngsters (all are between 19-20 years old), all enrolled in the Faculty of Economics and Computer Science (except for the lead singer Matthias Klinger, who is an apprentice crane operator). While others choose to hone their talent performing gigs on campus or in pubs, the sextet headed straight to the recording studio. The result: a collection of true gems, sparkling guitar riffs that rehabilitate the stop-and-go style of The Pixies ("Blue", a nod to "River Euphrates"), with local touches (a reference to the dragon in the Neuer Platz in "Satan Is A Poet" on a background of accordion) and a gradual disintegration of sound that makes "Kill Your Darlings" no less the link between "Surfer Rosa" and "In Utero". No doubt, Steve Albini would not reject either "Dolly" or "Blow !", both tracks being controlled eruptions of testosterone (on the first with a one-note solo, on the second with the power of the snare drum). But be careful not to categorize the Carinthia band in the sub-genre of pop punk. The combo is certainly more shrewd than virtuoso, but good-looking Klinger dares to reflect upon the role of desire in society through texts that point to the influence of Zweig and Apollinaire. A rather theoretical assessment "of all, all at once", but which works thanks to the simplicity of the production.