K M T P aka Keria Paterson Photo: Frances Carter
The 2020 EP P.S. C U Soon by Tāmaki Makaurau artist K M T P was lathered in tape hiss, and sported indie pop tunes good enough to linger on student radio for some time. It was the kind of work that seemed to signal bigger things on the horizon, and sure enough, three years later, their debut full-length is a fully realised merging of sounds and styles, some of which mesh more successfully than you might expect.
From some acts calling your album With Love might read as sarcasm, but here I suspect it’s sincere.
On record this is a one-person project, with Keria Paterson helming nearly all the instruments. They spent time behind the drum kits for bands like Dirty Pixels and Polyester, before showing a knack for four chord strummers and endearing lyricism.
In ‘First Date’, which is about exactly what it says, they sing “My heart is beating faster than usual”, unexpectedly understated, and giving a good idea where Paterson is coming from.
The track indulges in some deliciously overblown drums, and come the chorus, guitars to match. Throughout the record they are distorted and overdubbed to chunky effect.
This is an album where some immediate comparisons jumped out at me, having no idea if they were intentional or not. The wall of guitar evokes bands like My Bloody Valentine, but more specifically the way they’ve been layered brings to mind Siamese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins. Add enough distortion and you achieve a kind of ecstatic aural madness.
That’s offset by Paterson’s vocals, which feel very Aotearoa in their conversational nature. If pushed I might throw out Buzz Moller from Voom as similar.
They tracked the album in Jonathan Pearce’s studio, with producer Peter Ruddell. Similar to Ruddell’s work with D.C. Maxwell, with whom he added strings and other widescreen accoutrements, here the emphasis on overdrive achieves a different kind of maximalism.
‘Walk Out to Space’ hews closer to KMTP’s debut in its slightly scrappy mix of acoustic and electric, but the production here is a big step up. You can tell Paterson and Ruddell considered each element carefully.
A mid-album highlight is ‘2 Days’, dripping with sincerity, Paterson’s vocals front and centre over a shoegazey jangle. The addition of screamed backing vocals is its first surprise, the second being a very welcome trumpet solo.
‘2 Days’ is the album’s most emotionally engaging track, and its turning point. Further indie pop ensues, but starts to feel more serious, leading to ‘Ordinary Kid’, a full-on screamed hardcore track.
It’s followed with ‘Big Wide World’, where Paterson lyrically seems to find some sort of self acceptance. They’ve said the album is about maturity (there’s even a song called ‘Getting Old’), but it’s worth stressing how generous it is, while simultaneously looking inward. The inclusion of ‘With Love’ in the title rings true.
