Dirt [CD]

At 47 years old I admit I was introduced to KIGH by my teenage daughter who saw them at The Orange Box in Yeovil and I
absolutely love them!
Bought Smart Casual last year - great debut album. I was lucky enough to see KIGH in Yeovil on their Lost Prophets tour,
in fact I confess it was them I went to see and not the headliners! KIGH were awesome live and a hug from Aled who kindly
signed my ticket made my night.
'Matters at All' is my favourte track and has me bouncing around in my car on the way to work! I love The Best is Yet to Come
and Sunshine is a great summer anthem.
I hope KIGH stay around for a very long time!

Kids In Glass Houses' sophomore album, Dirt. This album is huge, and when I say huge I mean it. I will go through a track by track review:

Artbreaker I - Starts of with drums and guitar then slams right into the verse which is very catchy and very resembling of Fisticuffs from Smart Casual. The song has a massive chorus and gives us a great idea of what the album is going to sound like. Aled sounds absolutely incredible. His singing range has broadened since the first album and he also adds a couple of screams into the song [10]. The album quickly slides into the next song 'The Best Is Yet To Come'. The song also has a very chorus and verse. This track is very much Smart Casual and would have fit perfectly. The song has a really good bridge which very much resembles You Me At Six (take that how you like it) before then crashing into a higher key change of the chorus. This isn't the best song on the album, but very much single material [9]. The next song we get to is 'Sunshine' and excuse the pun but this is song really shines out from the others. Aleds vocals are incredible on this one. As it crashes into the chorus, this is really a stadium filler track. With the backing vocals of "Wuh-oh" really brings out the songs chorus. Kids In Glass Houses debuted this song on the Lostprophets tour I believe and it sounds incredible live [10]. The next song is second single off the album, 'Matters At All'. This song also shows the massive sound that this album has got with an incredible verse and a HUGE chorus. I'm not surprised at all that this was the first single. This song just seems to flow really nicely. The thing I love about KIGH is that they are just some pop band that write songs with 3 or 4 chorus. They write massive, technical and catchy songs. The ending of this song really brings is out, Aleds vocals are astounding [10]. The next song we have is first single on the album 'Youngblood (Let It Out)' with an offbeat guitar into which flows through the song. The song hasn't really got a catchy chorus but whenever played live it seems to go down really well with the crowd. The bridge in this song is fantastic, with a half time bit which then kicks back into the guitar line which is repeated until the chorus which builds up perfectly [9.5]. Next up we have 'Lilli Rose' which starts of without Aleds voice overdubbed to give an amazing haunting feeling. I personally love this, it has a really summery chorus and amazing verses. This song has a really rocky bridge which then moves onto just Aleds voice until it builds into the massive ending [10]. 'Giving Up' starts off with a slow guitar line and Aleds voice over the top which sounds incredible. The song also has a massive chorus, but is slightly let down by the second verse and it goes slow and doesn't really breakdown. The song has quite an obvious meaning of a classic love break-up. The strings in the background of the song give it that massive feeling that will leave you with goosebumps on your arms [10]. The next song 'For Better or Hearse' kicks off with a Ska-rock type intro and kicks into the verse. The chorus is very catchy and upbeat and is a great song to dance to. This song will probably get stuck right into your head. The only thing I'm not too fond of is the transition from the intro to the first verse. But there is a bit in the song where just Aled sings and is very reminiscent of Raise Hell [9.5]. 'Undercover Lover' has the guest female vocals from Frankie Sandford (The Saturdays) but she come into the track until the bridge where she's singing with Aled. The chorus is quite catchy but it sounds very much like a rocky country and western song. The reason for this is probably because of Frankie's vocals. It's a very cheesy song - probably the weekest on the album [8]. 'Maybe Tomorrow' is a much better song. Got a really funky bassline with pounding drums and catchy vocals. Again quite a big chorus but very upbeat at the same time [9]. 'The Morning After' is the slow ballad in the album. When I say ballad, I don't mean gooey vocals and cheesy lyrics. This song has an incredible vocal performance from Aled here. The first part of the song has plucked guitars and chords in the background, but then lowly builds up to a massive chorus and a really fitting guitar riff. Again the strings add a massive sound to the song and give it so much emotion [10]. 'Hunt The Haunted' was first debuted on the internet as a free download I believe and I first heard it on the Lostprophets tour. It has a massive intro with Aleds incredible vocals crashing in. This is a real stunner of a song. A real highlight on the album. The chorus is massive, catchy and actually quite haunting [10]. Artbreaker II has a very similar style intro to Artbreaker I, but starts off with Aled singing the chorus of Artbreaker I. It has a soaring guitar solo in the beginning played by Iain. They goes into a massive chant of "Wuh-uh-oh-uh-oh" with Aled singing over the top. Then crashes back into the massive chorus. Incredible song to end the album with [10].

If you are unsure about buying this album I would VERY HIGHLY recommend it. It's an incredible sophomore. If you have just gotten into KIGH and are not sure what album to buy first. Definitely buy Smart Casual then this. Smart Casual was a smashing debut too.

I bought this album because I saw a few songs I already liked including Matters At All. It's an okay album, nothing special, I think their previous and next album will be better than this one but it's not a complete wash out. If you're a Kids In Glass Houses fan then it'd be good to buy but if you're not I'd suggest buying Smart Casual or In Gold Blood.