Northcote Social Club, 12th May 2012
For any first-time listener of Kim Churchill walking into the NSC band room, it would have been easy to mistake the 21 year old for a three-piece outfit. In one square metre of explosive energy, Churchill strangled his guitar like an unruly snake with his grungy folk-rock. This was accompanied by haunting vocals about adolescence and travel-wisdom, and a harmonica sound that seemed to reverberate off some nearby cave. All this reached a climax with the frenzied stomping of a 24-inch bass drum, invariably effectuating dance.
Having won the Byron Bay Bluesfest busking competition a few years ago, Churchill has held a spot at the festival for the past two years and is now touring in support of his new album, Detail of Distance. Mumford and Sons, Neil Young and Led Zeppelin come to mind upon listening, but such comparisons fail to convey the sheer live spectacle of Churchill’s performances.
