Les Kilt

If you happen to stop by CD Exchange and peruse their local band collection, you’ll find a new addition. Les Kilt, a band fronted by Dave Suchon (Queens Law ’06), have released their debut LP Coffee and the Constellations. The result is a startlingly impressive forty minutes of music.

Les Kilt came together haphazardly – a friendship and mutual love of music was all it took for Dave Suchon and former guitarist Ed Cummings to begin writing songs in August 2004. They contacted drummer Ken Hume, formerly with Delusions of Grandeur, to add drums to a dozen of their original tracks. Playing together for the first time, the three were pleasantly surprised by the results. The idea of creating a band was quickly born.

Produced by Tyler de Witt, whose penchant for textured recording gives the album its ethereal fingerprint, Coffee and the Constellations combines biting lyrics with unique melodies and traditional arrangements with inventive song structure. De Witt also contributes throughout with tasteful cameos on guitar, bass, drums and piano.

Coffee and the Constellations is an album that is varied both in style and scope. Songs like “Terrified,” “Coffee and the Constellations” and “Too Slow” lean towards the new trend of country-twang that has recently emerged in rock/pop songs. Les Kilt’s country-twang is one reminiscent of The Shins, Wilco or R.E.M.; the band is able to capture the honesty of the country sound without crossing over into hokey territory. The combination of haunting organ, played by keyboardist Cathy Cryderman, and plaintiff vocals by Suchon make the title track a standout.

Les Kilt also tackle rock’n roll in songs like “Palindromes,” “Benches at Bus Stops” and “Stage Direction.” They avoid the conventional modern rock/pop sound, however, by interjecting an array of Beatles’ influences, including lilting trumpet by Jasmine Landau on “Palindromes” and substantial male harmonies. Finally, songs like “Morning Sun” are much more lyric-heavy and sound-light, forcing the listener to pay attention to Suchon’s lyrics. Perhaps one of the greatest feats on the album is Suchon’s ability as a lyricist. Most of the songs on the album showcase Suchon’s views on the difficulty individuals face when forced to acknowledge their desires as individuals and the obligations of their lives. Suchon manages to turn a philosophical debate into lyrical prose, something that manages to set his lyrics apart from most of the pedestrian lyrics heard on the radio today (Nickelback, anyone?).

Coffee and the Constellations reveals a band that returns to music with no pretense or agenda, music based on an avoidance of rock-star pomp and clarity of musical vision. It is easy to understand why Les Kilt list some of their musical influences as Paul Simon’s Graceland, Neil Young’s Tonight’s the Night, Ron Sexsmith’s Other Songs, and Belle and Sebastian’s If You’re Feeling Sinister. All of the listed influences are musicians who are able to have their music stand on its own, musicians who don’t need to rely on image or trend or popular vote to validate their musicianship. Les Kilt follow in their influences’ footsteps, creating in Coffee and the Constellations an album of open and honest songs full of subtlety in both lyric and melody. Les Kilt’s Coffee and the Constellations is an album worth the trek to the CD Exchange.
- Queen's Universtiy Antithesis