The Kessels – Loosen Up With The Kessels (2023)
Take a step with me into that dusty loft where you kept all the old boxes now needing clearing out. You see a small wooden box, covered in a thick layer of dust, possibly some spiderwebs. You open the box slowly and you’ve taken a trip back almost 40 years. Recorded in 1986 and brought back in 2023, kind of like a time capsule, The Kessels present you with their “way back then” single ‘Loosen Up With The Kessels’.
“Nobody heard this song until its release, yesterday [10/6/23]. The Kessels recorded this in Boston in 1986. It was one song that we honed and honed in the studio and then we shelved it. Then the master reel was lost for 37 years. Now fully restored and freshly mastered for 2023, it would fit in an indie-pop set along with Big Star, Kurt Vile, Eyelids, Elephant Stone, Robyn Hitchcock, New Order and maybe Juno Roome.” – The Kessels on ‘Loose Up With The Kessels’
Given that ‘Loosen Up With The Kessels’ was created 37 years ago, it makes sense the melody has a nostalgic flair back to 80s rock. Soft, soothing and mellifluous, The Kessels send you adrift on a glistening sonic river with kaleidoscopic lights flitting about your body. Yet, as the track has an initial gentleness in its smooth flow, a crashing crescendo of guitars scorches along the river with pounding drums woven into its…um, scorch. Tipping the sonic raft slightly, you feel the waves begin to toss along with the song.
While the melody certainly captures your soul let alone your ears, the lead vocals are interwoven with a decadent shining thread sending shivers along your skin. Bearing toward the vocals of Thom Yorke, these dulcet tones are wistful and whimsical but with a palpable gritty haunting – something you are unlikely to forget.
Considering this is The Kessels’ first release since 1986 and currently their only single available, I am thrilled to have found it even if it might be the one-and-only song we’ll have. If The Kessels have more up their sleeves, I cannot wait to loosen up to future material.
For more from The Kessels, check out their official website and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
