Mr. Kito – Where Are The Lizards?

Mr. Kito – Where Are The Lizards? – EP Review

So………in case anyone is wondering what catches my attention straight off the bat…all the ingredients are intensely on display in moment one of this new EP from Mr. Kito, Where Are The Lizards? Unique sounds and beats come immediately flying out of the first steps into these six songs and it doesn’t become any more “typical” from there! Sold!

Of course…we’re big fans of artists & bands that challenge the very fabric of what you already know about music and expand our palettes. As this very well might be the most creative six songs I’ve ever personally come to listen to – you have my personal assurance that I’m truly hooked on Mr. Kito. In fact, this EP has been one of the only time-outs I’ve allowed myself to have while in the middle of recording my own latest solo project, The Cellophane Heart.

Someone out there tell me you GOT that last sentence. Anyone?

Perhaps the ultimate compliment that doesn’t come up often can be applied here. Many of you reading have made albums of your own…and when you’re in the very thick of it all, sometimes the last thing you want to do is take a break.

…but maybe I just need to start making music as good as our new friend Mr. Kito…

The truth is that the few short breaks I’ve allowed myself to take while in the recording process have been more than easy to justify spending with the amazing songs on Where Are The Lizards? The first listen to this EP is as memorable as it can get for a set of ears; quite simply – there is nothing here that you’ve heard before. Every ounce of my attention grabbed onto these slick electro-influenced grooves and beautiful vocal mixes & melodies. Throughout the songs playing, I literally found each track to build upon the last, resulting in not only a sound that Mr. Kito can claim for itself and a cohesive EP that will literally help expand the limitations of your musical mindset.

EMBRACE this EP…hold it in your ears and whisper to it that you love it like no other…because it truly ISN’T like any other.

Reviewers get caught often in the trap of claiming this special status for even the slightest deviations in a simple rock-band – but those of you who have followed my writing here at sleepingbagstudios know that I’d never try to pull anything over on you. So let me just say plainly what the others will be afraid to:

Where Are The Lizards? is by FAR the strangest, weirdest, and most beautifully creative EP to come out into the musical open in 2014…and I LOVE IT.

Is it going to be for everyone? No. But man SHOULD it be…I dream of a world where this is the mainstream music we hear outside our open windows in the summertime. “In The Colour Of Your Eyes,” the opening track on the EP will confirm your allegiance instantly – it’s such a different sound than what you’ll be expecting that, well, if you’re anything like me will surge you forward with pleasure into the title track to follow and intense audio-treats to follow. For some, the sounds will be almost too inventive; this isn’t simply verse/chorus/verse – this is organic music at its absolute best, it has LIFE.

“Where Are The Lizards?” is an absolute trip. With a beat similar to the freak-out bests from the Radiohead catalog, Mr. Kito’s official brainchild Eric Michot continues to bend his vocals hypnotically throughout. Spiraling into epic-ness – this is a track that is certainly title-worthy. Followed by the sweet sounds of the pop-electro “Embrace Carelessness,” I can again tell you with complete certainty – the ideas he has for how he wants to sound through the lyrics and vocals has been flawlessly prepared and mapped out. It’s incredibly well-mixed and such a brilliant & unique sound to have up front.

A slight hint at an accent on these English words is slightly more noticeable on “All Is Near,” a must-hear track on an EP full of six memorable efforts. Drawing out the vocals against a truly rad piece of electro-pop – for those of you that SOMEHOW might have struggled with the opening tracks, this would be the song for YOU. This is the track that will hook in the people from the outside and bring them in to the world of Mr. Kito.

That electro-pop and vocal-style on “All Is Near” continues into the dark in the following track “Feel You In Me.” Taking much of that accessible feeling found in the track moments before, Eric Michot brings the atmosphere into a dusky & hypnotic track that breathes in and out just like you do.

I mean really! There’s so much LIFE in this EP it could get up and walk to your house on its own.

Closing with “Awaiting,” was…..well….perfect. What about this EP wasn’t for me? Another experiment in vocalization, this time with a combination of noise-guitar vs. incredibly smooth-guitars & ocean waves…it’s a genius ending to a brilliant set of six and when the song drops out at the end, I was stoked to find out there was a tiny bit more waiting for me there at the end, a real highlight of this unique vocal-style and succinct punctuation to this expressive set of music on Where Are The Lizards?

SO…do YOURSELF a favour and go get your headphones…then click this link here at the bottom to go find out more about Mr. Kito and get the music. We’re all guilty of listening to what “we know” far too often…our comfortable and safe sounds…the classics we all love so much.

But in the background, people like Eric Michot are pushing the boundaries in projects like this one here in Mr. Kito, creating sounds that are ALL NEW…things you’ve yet to hear, conceptualize or try for yourself…amazing things…

Honestly…quit stalling…go put this in your face!

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