Kate Stables returns in absolutely masterful form this week as This is The Kit with the new “Careful Of Your Keepers” LP. There are loads of introspective moments, but the way the rich sonics all weave together just creates such an amazing flow. It was produced with Gruff Rhys and he has really added a warmth and focus without detracting from the band’s dynamic. This one really is a proper belter.
“Careful Of Your Keepers” is daring and soft, cutting and warm–a wild feat of complexity and combined dispositions. There’s a shared language of the band’s family experience that is as audible as ever in these recordings, which boast beautiful instrumental performances that still leave the nuanced space required for Stables’ vocals to live at the forefront. Across 10 songs, Stables reflects on the fragility of everything–of situations, relationships, and humans–and what we do to look after each other and ourselves as time rapidly passes.
Guiding the ship through changing seas is producer Rhys. Stables described his role as being a “tonesetter,” watchful and attentive to the band dynamics while making sure to always follow a hunch for where a new sound could find its place in the recording. “They are so ridiculously talented–and every member is a great producer in their own right–so it was just a matter of trying to capture the magic they make when playing live together,” Rhys says of the recording process. “Their playing is by default so thoughtful and complimentary in terms of respect to each other’s parts and to the integrity of the songs themselves that it creates a beautiful foundation of often cosmic interplay that’s always in aid of Kate’s voice and vision as a songwriter.”
The Fat Angel Sings 