Current Newsstand Edition: January 03 - January 16, 2005

These artist reviews can also be found in the current paper edition of Music Connection magazine.

Contact: Hot Line, 310-546-5966; lkk@latchkeykid.org

The Players: Gavin Heaney, guitar, vocals; Andy Weiss, bass; Brendan Reynolds, drums.

Material: Riding the same waves as Jack Johnson, Latchkey Kid washes up to shore with a sea of mellow surfer vibes, Seventies groove and Chuck Berry-era rockabilly blues. The Johnson-like euphonious lullabies are nice, but for a show at the Viper Room, Latchkey Kid proves to be at its best when it kicks things up a notch and settles into a groove. Once going, Latchkey Kid’s funk-groove songs sound as if they were inspired by the Peppers’ work on Blood Sugar Sex Magik.

Musicianship: Most impressive about this act’s musicianship is the understanding and ability to mesh different styles. Technically, the material never calls for anything complicated, but is more about smart songwriting and catchy guitar hooks that are layered with groovy bass lines. From an individual standpoint, frontman Heaney sings with a scratchy smoker’s voice, close to that of Puddle of Mudd’s Wes Scantlin, but still manages to soothe despite the rough tone. Weiss and Reynolds are both solid players.

Performance: Latchkey Kid puts the “good” into good times. Opening the show on the soft end, the band’s mellow tunes set the mood early on, but when LK’s surfabilly songs picked up the pace, the band had its audience twisting and turning. Weiss played bass the entire time with his back turned, possibly because he and Reynolds were locked in on the backbeat. Whatever the reason, it didn’t affect his playing, but it did hamper his performance. It would have also been nice to see LK add a lead guitarist to bring another element into the music.

Summary: Latchkey Kid’s music will undoubtedly be compared to Jack Johnson upon first listen, but to its credit, this group is not confined to mellifluous bonfire songs. Because of the band’s willingness to take the surf-rock genre a step further, LK should soon be riding its own wave.

––Richard Frias