Kava Kava

It’s got to be a tough job to be an electronic band in Britain these days. While the hardcore partiers will always rave hard to drug and whiskey-and-Red Bull fuelled beats, the majority of the regular folk seem to have regained strength in the power of a couple of guys with guitars and the importance of showmanship. Hence the ante has been raised for bands that are still all beats at heart, to try to come off with a live gig that is entertaining to watch and can still keep the party alive. As displayed on their new album, Maui, Yorkshire four-piece Kava Kava are a band as such. Without sticking to a set-formula Maui comes off as a funky dance album that dabbles in a number of musical genres ranging from the big beat/house sounds on "Don’t Stop The Music” to an aggressive, Death In Vegas-style guitar attack on "Space People (A&rlien).” Probably a band with a great live show, the overall change of styles and rhythms, much like the Champion album, make it difficult to listen to as an album proper but there are some definite club anthems here. The best moments however, are when the guys slow down and cue up the Blaxploitation style, wah-wah guitars, and smooth, Temptations-sounding vocals on "Maui,” and mine the lush pop of Zero 7 territory on "Bankjob.”