I Am Kloot

Like many of the other British easy-listening "indie" acts, I Am Kloot makes music for the heart. Their songs are thoughtful, sensitive and every other song gives your tear ducts a little exercise. However, unlike some of their peers, IAK express their emotions from the heart and without all of that whimpering. Singer John Bramwell's voice is quite extraordinary, resembling the strength and consideration of James's Tim Booth. The band focuses on acoustics, though their music isn't exactly straight and simple. Here and there an off-kilter drumbeat or chord is struck, which makes Natural History different from the rest of the pack. "Bigger Wheels" sounds like it could be the blueprint for a Levellers tune, with its Irish pub rock sound. The instrumental "Loch" embarks upon the Verve's atmospheric territory, bending guitar notes and bouncing bass lines at a tortoise's pace. They even have the knack for penning uplifting pop songs, like "Morning Rain" and "86 TV's," that seem born for the radio. It would be easy to pass them off as another British indie band that writes trendy acoustic-pop music, but I Am Kloot has something worth discovering that is even more interesting than their name.