De Kift – “Hoofdkaas” CD review
One of the weirdest bands ever of those which take their beginning in punk music celebrates its 20th birthday with the album, called “Hoofdkaas” which means… brawn. To start with the band follows its traditions with the CD design, which has two versions (“screen-printed velour version for devotees and sumptuously exuberant version for connoisseurs”), both of which look extremely pleasant. As for the music, the album is called as a birthday celebration, and it sounds as a birthday present. It’s De Kift in its best. Folkish frenzy changes with weird lyricism, then unexpectedly moves to post-punk direction… all the De Kift “label” things can be found there, – brass instrumental background, punk approach, incredibly high level of artistry and professionalism and tons of weirdness. Hard to say if it’s plus or minus, that the red line of conception isn’t reflected as obviously as we can see it in the music of “Krankenhaus” or “Vier Voor Vier” for example, but in case of this “anniversarism” I’d rather call it plus, because it seems really hard to find a strict conception which could include all the 20 years of the band’s existence. So, what is “Hoofdkaas”? It’s a kind of key to De Kift’s intellectual punk approach, the great example of the style which only this band has, the treasure for all the “punk intelligentsia” (if there still is some), and just a great musical cocktail for those ones who’re not much busy and have time to listen to music properly to understand what it is about, and for those who find attraction in weirdos.
Grade: 9/10
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