Kissy Sell Out – The Kiss
Radio 1’s go-to guy for “jump-up rock’n’rave” gets his own stuff out there…
[Video][Myspace]
[5.40]
Michaelangelo Matos: Who else here remembers the Blog-House Wars as fondly as I do? That’s what I always took Kissy Sell Out for, at least when I started seeing his name on year-end best-remixes lists a couple years back. This sounds like Mr. Sell Out wants to go pop in the worst way, which figures — and like it could be a thousand others, which does too.
[5]
John M. Cunningham: Sort of like what would happen if Art Brut were offered millions to refashion themselves as a slick synth-rock band and soundtrack car commercials.
[5]
Hillary Brown: My, they’re awfully into kissing in awkward circumstances, but this is bouncy and bratty and ends up sticking its hand totally into your pocket. Damn it.
[6]
Alex Ostroff: British synth-emo-rap should be ten times worse than the US equivalent but I can barely restrain myself from dancing as I listen to this for the first time (in public! At an indie festival!). Ergo, it must be a little bit good.
[6]
Martin Kavka: The video is entirely sexless posturing. One might infer from this that it would be perfect for eight-year-olds. But even they deserve a little danger in their pop; this is just infantile.
[1]
Anthony Miccio: Is this what the Franz Ferdinand-Xenomania collaboration would have sounded like? Anxious Brit boys bouncing their sexual frustration around an echo chamber of Animotiony synths? With the leaders of nu-wave shirking such pop-portunities, I’m glad to see an upstart successfully fill the void – at least for one track.
[8]
Ian Mathers: His angst over his quasi-adulterous behaviour is nicely sketched (the boyfriend is an “alright” guy he knows, he wonders why they bothered in the first place, “so what do we talk about / when we’re going out?”) — you can practically feel the claustrophobia of a close-knit social circle where something untoward has happened and nobody knows yet. It’s a shame he comes across as so jejeune and, frankly, gormless, but the way he can’t seem to decide whether he wants her or just feels like he should to justify his guilt, as well as the throwback, Human League-plus-drums production mostly redeem things.
[7]
Chuck Eddy: For seemingly Streets/Killers-fusing electro-plop from a Limey twerp who ineptly apes ’80s Prince in his video, this probably isn’t as icky as it deserves to be.
[4]
Additional Scores
Anthony Easton: [5]
Martin Skidmore: [7]
First I’ve heard or heard of this guy. Was disappointed that the track didn’t come close to living up to the moniker, but I’ve only listened once so far.
Also was hoping for it to be a cover of Faith Hill’s “This Kiss.”
Ha ha, honestly wasn’t going to do this, but after Frank’s last comment I really have no choice; here’s the line that got edited out of my blurb (after I’d apparently misread the song title): “Unfortunately not a Faith Hill cover — This Kissy could definitely benefit from some of her multisyllabic adjectives.”
Man, it’s amazing how many songs have titles that have been used before, or even have ones that are kind of similar!