{"id":54218,"date":"2017-02-21T19:55:28","date_gmt":"2017-02-22T00:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=54218"},"modified":"2017-02-28T09:23:16","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T14:23:16","slug":"psycho-kiss-grit-music-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2017\/psycho-kiss-grit-music-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Psycho Kiss | Grit"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis<\/span>
\n– Sr. Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Fans of Female-fronted Hard Rock may have found a new heroine in Helen Ceri Clarke, the frontwoman of the U.K.’s Psycho Kiss. For those not familiar, Psycho Kiss hails from Wales, and the quintet hits all the right notes in their newly release third studio album entitled simply Grit<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The band is fronted by singer Helen Ceri Clarke and features the guitar duo of guitarists Paul O\u2019Brien and Pete Rose, bassist Tom Williams, and drummer Penfold. If one had to do a \u201csounds like\u201d comparison the obvious choice would be Halestorm, although Psycho Kiss leans a little more to the Metal end of the musical spectrum. Clarke delivers the bite and swagger of Joan Jett with the intensity of Lizzy Hale, and the band behind her is tight and precise \u2013 a winning combination. Grit joins their discography along with their debut album Monkeying Around<\/em> (2011) and Bloodbath at the Disco<\/em> (2013). <\/p>\n

Well mixed and engineered to highlight the band’s natural edge, Grit<\/em> hearkens back to the old school Hard Rock sound of days gone bye. Warm and rough, the balance of voice and instruments is perfect and allows everyone a chance to shine while retaining a modern clarity and sharpness. The band writes well-structured songs without too much variation in style, and their lyrics are as biting as their sound, poking holes in many aspects of modern life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ballad Of Pennywise\u201d opens in a purely theatrical manner \u2013 circus calliopes and sound effects, but it paves the way for \u201cGrit.\u201d This tune lives up to its title – filled with raspy guitars, hard-rocking rhythms, punchy drums and bass, biting lyrics, and gritty vocal performances. \u201cScream Queens\u201d is a solid piece of old school Hard Rock, built around strong drums and bass, and some kick-ass guitar riffs. Helen reaches deep and delivers a fine performance as she hits both ends of her vocal range. O’Brien proves that the art of the lead break is not dead with a short but intense solo. \u201cSociopathic Superstar\u201d is all about the bass and drums. \u201cGrieve For You\u201d has a bluesy, almost Bon Jovi feel to the flow of the rhythm line and chorus and displays Helen’s vocal prowess at its finest.<\/p>\n

A touch of grunge is mixed into \u201cEven Better If…\u201d and the slower tempo allows Helen’s hard rock voice to shine while O’Brien’s amazing break soars to the skies. The down-tempo \u201cDevil Inside\u201d seems to echo Girlschool a bit, while the moody \u201cThe Haunting\u201d has a fully Modern Rock sound thanks so the solid teamwork of bass and drums, and Rose’s deft touch on the rhythm guitars. The lighter \u201cDown\u201d has a kicking riff, a blistering solo, and gutsy vocal delivery, while the brutal, more progressive \u201cBloodmoon\u201d cuts with just enough edge to avoid being over-the-top. \u201cHolding On\u201d closes the album on a high thanks to strong keys and interesting tempo changes, giving the band a chance to really push their own boundaries \u2013 a brave and quite successful move.<\/p>\n

Grit<\/em> is a solid release, a musical effort that Psycho Kiss can be proud of in every possible way. Great songs, fine musicianship, and spirited delivery are the hallmark of a great band, and Psycho Kiss certainly lives up to it. Packed with all the juicy stuff that makes Hard Rock tasty, Grit<\/em> will appeal to fans of Hard Rock old and new, from The Runaways to Halestorm. Highly recommended \u2013 and quite addictive…<\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nHelen Ceri Clarke (vocals)
\nPaul O’ Brien (lead guitar)
\nPenfold (drums)
\nTom Williams (bass)
\nPete Rose (rhythm guitar)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tThe Ballad Of Pennywise
\n2.\tGrit
\n3.\tScream Queens
\n4.\tSociopathic Superstar
\n5.\tGrieve For You
\n6.\tEven Better If\u2026
\n7.\tDevil Inside
\n8.\tThe Haunting
\n9.\tDown
\n10.\tBloodmoon
\n11.\tHolding On<\/p>\n

Label: Independent<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.psychokiss.co.uk\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: [usr 9 size=20]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis – Sr. Columnist — Fans of Female-fronted Hard Rock may have found a new heroine in Helen Ceri Clarke, the frontwoman of the U.K.’s Psycho Kiss. For those not familiar, Psycho Kiss […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":54224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15128],"tags":[12968,13208,1103,13209,12354,13207,13210],"class_list":{"0":"post-54218","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2017","8":"tag-female-fronted","9":"tag-grit","10":"tag-hard-rock","11":"tag-helen-ceri-clarke","12":"tag-music-review","13":"tag-psycho-kiss","14":"tag-u-k"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}