Music Review: Red Line – KinetiX

One thing I can say for certain after listening to ‘Red Line’ is that Edenderry trio, KinetiX, definitely know how to make a catchy chorus and bouncing rhythms for their tracks. And, of course, they sound like a typical Offaly based band accent wise (trust me, I know they do considering I’m from there myself. It’s Emma here btw). They will no doubt be compared to Chasing Abbey and yet they really can’t be because, though both groups straddle similar or complementary genres and are from the same county, they are, at the same time, fundamentally and profoundly different. Since it’s our first time reviewing KinetiX, let us give you a brief introduction to the band first.

With a similar sound to the Chainsmokers, KinetiX consists of three Offaly based brothers, Theodore (vocals), Arthur (drums) and Ademar Stones (keys/guitar). The brothers were originally prize winning, traditional All-Ireland soloists and Arthur was a member of Irish trad/pop/folk group  ‘Ruaile Buaile’ who toured extensively across the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, The United Arab Emirates, Europe and Ireland. The brothers’ time spent together and on solo endeavours lead to the dancey pop group we have today. In 2017, the brothers began to work together, writing, producing and recording demos and eventually, in 2019, their new catalogue saw them working with Chris Bubenzer and Marcin Ciszczon in Diffusion Lab. Currently, the siblings work from their own studio in Offaly but do credit both producers with a lot of what they learned. Previous releases were received well and the band have been described as ‘remarkably talented’, energetic, emotive and ‘Ireland’s next Electro-pop stars’. Their track ‘Red Line’ is very much a party pop track about excess and vice and adds to their varied catalogue to date, including ‘Clear to You’ and ‘Remember Days’. Some of their previous tracks immediately made me think of Avicii as a musical influence but ‘Red Line’ doesn’t seem to follow the same creative process or influences. 

So, now that you have the introduction to the group as a whole, let’s break down the song as a whole. As you may, or may not, know, I tend to focus quite a bit on the production aspects of the music I review but I will do my best to include a breakdown on the lyrics as well. I’ll be brief with my description of the lyrics and say that I feel like the song depicts the (figurative) trip you go on when everything on a night out is done to an excessive degree. Overall, ‘Red Line’ is very much a song about living life in the excess and the repercussions of said excesses, like the hangover afterwards. 

The song very much highlights living life in the fast lane and the slightly chaotic feel introduced by the synths and the pounding beat very much add to the feel of this track being based on a chaotic bender where someone, somehow, ends up in Majorca with no idea how they got there. The introduction of the beat early on in the song is meant to mimic the thumping of your head during a raging hangover and, to be honest, I get it. Personally, I think that adding a bit more bass underneath the synths at certain points in the chorus may have added a bit more to the hangover concept representing that pounding throb of the headache but the concept as a whole is still a first as far as I can tell. To represent a physical feeling musically is actually genius. The opening aspect of the song includes a distorted, chopped vocal which could be seen as the broken, disjointed memory from the night before and introduces an almost dreamy, echoey first verse that drops in the chorus where our hangover beat is properly added. It’s an almost blissful, laid back opening that is suddenly interrupted by the drop into the chorus which I really like. The underlying hum of the opening  The synths are very much part of the whole beat of this track and adds a great. There are also some extra rhythms layered in the track, most noticeably around the bridge, that sounds like old school 64 bit game music that adds to the chaotic, disjointed madness and fun of the track. 

I really enjoyed this track. It’s fresh, fun and definitely a track that you can add to party playlists. KinetiX have definitely shown they are very capable of creating music that varies hugely, across multiple genres and styles, while putting their own individual spin and ideas in the mix. Red Line is out now so be sure to check it out on Spotify.