Music Review: KDH, Piedmont Rose

By Tyler Hodg

Whoever said rock ‘n’ roll is dead is sorely wrong; it’s just been beaten, battered, and bruised, and KDH (Kill Devil Hills) are here to let everyone know. With the release of their sophomore album Piedmont Rose, KDH once again brings their low-fi, high energy, in-your-face sound to the masses, living proof that rock ‘n’ roll is alive and well.

Without a doubt, the biggest selling point for the North Carolina band’s latest effort is that it oozes attitude. Their songs are good. Their lyrics are good. Their energy is fantastic. The pinnacle of the album’s sound is found in the lengthy psychedelic track “Lettuce Rest (Appalachian Spring).” The song is like an atmospheric train, hurtling forward directionless, allowing the listener to have no choice but to hold on for the ride. “Beloved Devoted” and “Ratchets” embody a different kind of energy, but their up-tempo, aggressive sound fits in perfectly with KDH’s groovier songs.

The musicianship on Piedmont Rose is fairly poor, but that’s OK; rock ‘n’ roll can be loose and perfect playing isn’t necessary. In fact, imperfections are often what give a recording character. That doesn’t mean one should go around messing with things for the sake of it (a la Dave Grohl on Wasting Light), but being the best musician is far from what rock ‘n’ roll is about. The genre is about attitude: nothing more, nothing less. The members of KDH all have distinctive styles, and Piedmont Rose showcases them. The drumming is loose but groovy, guitars are fuzzy and twangy, the vocals are hypnotic and gripping. Piedmont Rose was recorded live off the floor, which means there were no overdubs or redoes to fix the mistakes, the same ones that give the album so much personality.

One negative thing about Piedmont Rose is the low quality in the recording. As previously noted, rock ‘n’ roll can be sloppy (Google The Rolling Stones, if you haven’t heard of them), but the notion that it needs to be poor sonically is a trend that needs to end. In this day and age, the ability to make a good-sounding record doesn’t come down to money, it comes down to effort, and although Piedmont Rose isn’t the worst-sounding record in the world, it definitely doesn’t sound like it was recorded in 2015. Stellar production values could have cemented it as one of the greatest albums you’ve never heard.

KDH is a band that may never break out into the mainstream, but as long as they are putting out music with the same quality that Piedmont Rose contains, they’ll be just fine. Somewhere, there is an underground scene dying for a band like KDH; that’s a fact. Their sound from time to time nods to rock bands of yesteryear, but never falls into the dreaded “throwback” category. It’s not often that a band truly embodies what rock ‘n’ roll is about, but with Piedmont Rose, KDH achieved just that.

Piedmont Rose was self-released by KDH on April 1 and can be purchased on Bandcamp.