It might not be the big romantic return to form that’s being heralded but ‘The Nightsaver’ has plenty of small moments to prove that weary troubadour David Kitt still has something vital to give. There was a time when Kitt was able to bind his electronic diversions seamlessly with his acoustic instincts but the cracks are beginning to show in this device. It’s only when he partially ditches the artificial forays for something more human that the gems start to emerge on this his 6th album. ‘No Truth In Your Eyes’, ‘Alone Like That’, ‘Don’t Wake Me Up’ (with Katie Kim) and their ilk are as good as we’ve heard from Kitt and expose what made his lo-fi ditties so loveable in the first place. It’s that fragile melody and exposed emotion that catches you off guard and marks Kitt out as one of Ireland’s most impressive song writers. ‘The Nightsaver’ is within touching distance of being a great album; if the Dubliner can somehow turn up the heat a tad next time around that long overdue success will surely be his. KD
David Kitt – Don’t Wake Me Up
Watch The Video To Song From Hope St.
More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: David Kitt
Year: 2009
great commentary of the music. I myself am not a huge fan of David Kitt so far, but I really have appreciated the in depth reviews of each band on this site. Keep up the good work.
I think I saw David Kitt play before Damien Rice and were amazing. About amazing, you should also check out the new band from Sweden, http://www.myspace.com/thefauxnoiseAwsome!/A
Your review is spot on. There are some great tracks on there but overall it’s lacking something…
I just don’t think you’ve got to the core of the record yet, it takes time and a bit of imagination too. You’ve pointed out the more immediate tracks as the ones you like and granted these are great tracks but i can guarantee you that with repeated listens you’ll see the real depth of the album lies in tracks like ‘Nobody Leaves’, ‘It’s Yours’ and ‘Use Your Eyes’. There’s a distance in these tracks that shows a certain emotional maturity and a real development in his skill as a lyricist. You haven’t even mentioned ‘Learning How To Say Goodbye’ or ‘Move it On’ which makes me wonder how much you’ve actually listened to the record. The touching distance your talking about will disappear with repeated listening. It IS a great album, definitely his best, there isn’t one weak song whereas ‘The Big Romance’ in my opinion did have a couple of fillers. Keep listening, greatness doesn’t necessarily reveal itself so quickly.
Anon: Cheers for the comment, it’s great to read a passionate comment. With regard to the review it’s hard to mention every track but I have to say ‘Move It On’ is one of the more immediate tracks on the album but not all that memorable. The album is nowhere near ‘The Big Romance’, the songs were better and more crucially that album flowed much more organically. ‘The Nightsaver’ struck me as a collection of thoughts that popped out randomly on this record. It is marked improvement on previous efforts though so hopefully Kittser can make a real classic next time around.