Biography

At a party in Autumn 2006, Kevin pitched his musical ideas to a mysterious stranger over a table of finger food and excessive varieties of mini-roll and won the enthusiasm of the cellist and composer Luke Moore. In 2007 they performed across the North West of England with their first major slot supporting Ian McNabb at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Violinist Josie Pearce was recruited later that year to add an extra dimension to the Outfit's sound. In March 2008 they began recording their debut album at Sandhills studios in Liverpool. Once the album was complete they began the search for additional musicians to expand the band's sound on the live circuit.

First on board was Alex Williams, a former school friend of Kevin's, to play drums & percussion in late 2008. The rhythm section was completed with the arrival of Alex's brother Mike in January 2009 and the new Outfit began performing in earnest.

Helping to expand the sonic pallette of the band, Heather Cookson joined the KCO lineup adding backing vocals & second violin and on occasion the band is joined by Jamie Rigg on Sax and Alex Forsey on Trombone.


CD Review: Kevin Critchley Outfit - Scars
Graham Holland
Liverpool Acoustic – liverpoolacoustic.co.uk

Back in the summer of 2006 I was at Alun Parry's Acoustic Slice event handing out flyers to advertise the new It's A Frog's Life Acoustic Podcast (still going strong at itsafrogslife.net/podcast, by the way!) when a young man shoved an EP in my hand and said “Have a listen to this. You can play it on your show if you like it.” That man was Kevin Critchley, and the ep was called Think It Over. I get a fair number of CDs from musicians wanting to get played on the show – some of them very good, and some of them... er... not quite so good, but I listen to each and every one of them. So when I climbed into the car to head home I slipped the EP into my car's CD player and pressed 'play'. And I was blown away by what I heard! The energy, power, and passion in the four tracks on that EP were astounding, the musicianship was top class, and the songs were very well-written.

Therefore when I heard that Kevin was in the studio recording a full length CD I was rather excited. After all, since 2006 Kevin Critchley has transformed into the Kevin Critchley Outfit by adding a combination of regular and guest musicians to create an even bigger and better sound than before.

Of the thirteen songs on Scars many of them are in the KCO's distinctive signature style. Tracks such as Caves, Scars, Without Him, Abuse, and Play It Cool, are minor key, dark, powerful, brooding, and perfect for Luke Moore's cello and Josie Pearce's viola and violin. Cushioned Walls deviates from this template only far enough to add an underlying piano track. Desire is in the same vein, and as an opening track is the perfect introduction to the KCO sound for anyone new to their music. And if you close your eyes to listen to Louise you'll be instantly transported to the bazaars of Marrakesh or the markets of Old Baghdad.

If, following Louise, you were to keep your eyes closed while you listened to the next track, Temptuous Eyes, you'd find yourself plucked off the streets and deposited very firmly into a late-night lounge bar. The excellent, Temptuous Eyes contains all the classic elements for such a song – soft percussion, syncopated rhythm, muted trombone solo, sultry vocals.

The KCO sound is nothing if not versatile, and the album's second track Sunshine is, as the name suggests, a great summer song. In a style reminiscent of Katrina and the Waves, or the Brand New Heavies, Sunshine has the potential to become a massive summer radio hit given the right support and a bit of luck. While you're at it, you might as well add My Love to the same category – songs to brighten your day. Finally, Thank You is a beautiful piano ballad with string accompaniment. And the album finishes with the haunting Tranquility.

So far I've mentioned the songs, the instruments, the music, and the different styles, but the common factor that pulls them all together is Kevin's incredible voice. His vocal range is stunning and never forced, and his singing can move from powerful and passionate to gentle and forgiving, sometimes even within the same song.

'fully-charged' is probably the best way I can think of to describe KCO's music. I just want to know how many guitar strings Kevin broke while recording the CD!