“Life is golden when I hate you.“
With their recent singles, Bristol unit Kite Thief have looked to blend the intensity of modern metalcore with melancholic and volatile tones, along with the confronting energy of the likes of Vukovi. This cocktail of influences puts a boldness on Ambiviolent from the get-go, yet as shown of these singles, Kite Thief have a certain swagger that might just make Ambiviolent the spearhead of their momentum.
Each single is being released one-by-one until the full release of Ambiviolent, giving keen listeners a slow drip feed of Kite Thief. The first of these was “The Tide“, showing off the prowess of vocalist Elin‘s ability. Vocal hooks of “I’m so ready, to feel as if my head is above the tide” draw in the ear alongside its energetic instrumentals. Sprinklings of attitude are brought in on “Goldstick“, with tongue-in-cheek lyricism such as “hope there’s a hole in all your pockets so you lose all your change“, even if it does ride a fine line of perhaps being too on the nose.
Ambiviolent does does stumble slightly on “Judge Judy & Executioner” as the spoken-word leaning vocals during the verses feel slightly out of place. The remainder of the track does pull it back somewhat, with a gorgeous vocal display in the closing moments. After this the EP does begin hit its stride on both “Shush” and the title track. The former opens with some neatly placed synth work, catchy vocals and noodling guitar, making for a track that delivers something deeply listenable and also enjoyable. It even offers a nice low-tuned mixed with some harsh vocals to have a shimmy to.
The aforementioned closer and title track “Ambiviolent” takes an introspective turn and once again offers up a stunning vocal performance. The mulling of “Is there any worth to live an Ambiviolent life?” is blended with an uplifting energy behind it, making for a moment of unexpected potency from the record and sees it exit on a high point.
While Ambiviolent is far from the finished project that Kite Thief could achieve, it gives them a solid foot holding to make solid strides in 2024, and hopefully further experiment and play with this sound to move away from being a sum of its influences and something more unique. For now there is plenty to enjoy from Ambiviolent and Kite Thief have done a pretty good job of achieving of what they aimed to do on this EP.
7/10
Ambiviolent is out Friday December 15th via Year of the Rat Records.