Album Review: David Kitt, Idiot Check

For over two decades now, David Kitt has ploughed his own furrow, skirting the borders between electronica and singer-songwriter troubadour.

He is a renaissance man; one who is fluent in both the language of J Dilla and J Prine.

Across the body of his extensive catalogue, he comes across as a kind of artisinal guru, capable of an originality that is both compelling and deep. Between 2016 and 2022, moving betwixt Dublin, Paris and Ballinskelligs on the Dingle Peninsula, in his self-baptised ‘Breaking Bad mobile studio set up’, Kitt wrote, recorded and produced Idiot Check, guerrilla style.

With typical eclecticism, he takes in electro-soul on ‘Not So Soon’; Townes Van Zandt-style lyricism on ‘Wexford Strawberries’; space ambient on ‘Till The End’; and surf-rock on ‘Wave Of Peace’.

Goth-folk effort ‘All Folly’ remarkably features the spooky vocals of fellow Tindersticks alumnus Mary Margaret O’Hara, an artist as enthralling as she is elusive. The wonderful Katie Kim also features on several tracks, reaching for perfection on ‘It’s In Some of Us’ – a song that is pure Kittser, careening fantastically from acoustic to electronic, serene to turbulent. We’ll have ample opportunity to catch this timeless and original artist over the next few months. On the basis of Idiot Check, we’d be mad to miss him.

8/10

Read our recent interview with David Kitt here.