Written by: Oliver Heffron

Ann Arbour band Kingfisher’s debut LP Grip Your First, I’m Heaven Bound is an indie/folk project brimming with potential. The 8-piece group utilizes its arsenal of instruments, combining folk melodies with orchestral flourishes and electronic production to produce a sound that reaches for a space between Bon Iver and BADBADNOTGOOD. 

Somber vocals, acoustic guitar plucks, and a reverb-soaked soundscape paints a soothing portrait in “Annie,” while the swelling saxophone and string orchestration on “Holy Hell” progresses into an unexpected explosion of distorted guitar licks. “Reichenbach Falls” picks up the pace with an upbeat groove with an interesting progression, while “Snowing, All At Once” creates a warming, nostalgic portrait with its filtered guitars and layers of voicemail audio. “Regulate” slowly builds a bed of pianos and samples around the melody before breaking down into a pitched-up soul sample beat.

Many tracks keep progressing and changing until their very last second, like how “Grip Your Fist” reels back to a soft outro before bringing all the instruments back to deliver one final riff. Mixed and recorded by the band themselves, these progressions reward the listener for listening all the way through and enlivens the track with the improvisational energy of a live performance.

The self-produced indie record has its rough corners and flaws in moments where the experimentation goes too far, or their influences shine too clearly. Still, it’s a really exciting start for a group brimming with musical potential, and we hope to hear more!

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