Looking like something out of West Coast America, they’ve been described as the successors to the Kings of Leon throne. And with five-star reviews flying in for their debut album Hope Street, Glasgow’s Kassidy look increasingly like the “Next Big Thing”.
A great 2010 for the band has turned into an even better 2011, with their biggest tour to date, the album picking up plaudits from across the music industry, being shortlisted for Scotland’s Best New Band and now Primal Scream choosing them for a prestigious support slot warming up for them at Glasgow’s SECC.
The foursome were asked to perform in their home city after Bobby Gillespie heard their music and fell for their acoustic guitar nu-country/rock. Barrie-James O’Neill, Hamish Fingland, Lewis Andrew and Chris Potter have stunned crowds throughout the UK over the past couple of years with their Californian-style guitar riffs and powerful on-stage four-part harmonies and now look set for the big breakthrough.
Hope Street is as fine a debut album as you could wish for, inhabiting the territory of Mumford and Sons to the aforementioned KOL, through folk, country, rock ‘n’ roll and grunge, from Crosby, Stills and Nash to Johnny Cash and Nirvana, but still sounding fresh and new.
He said, “It’s weird once you record your album, it’s all so long ago, so you don’t think about when it comes out and it just creeps up on you. Time flies by and suddenly it’s time to get out touring and promote it.
“I know we’ve had some great feedback and sometimes things just creep into your head, like ‘Will this album take off big style and change our lives?’ We’re all human beings after all.
“But you don’t really talk about that with the band. We don’t all wonder whether we can afford a BMW or whether we can move to Morocco. What really sets us off is seeing the venues getting bigger like when we played T in the Park last year, we were all thinking about 30 people would turn up, not at all thinking that 5000 will show.
“Then you go up to a wee local pub in Wick. But it’s brilliant we just love experiencing different places.”
Hope Street was released on Monday. Check out www.kassidymusic.com for details.
Kassidy come to Dundee’s Doghouse on April 12. Look out for more on that in Rocktalk soon.