A Kerrang! cover, beer collab with a local brewery, tour of the UK and Europe… ooh, it’s a good time to be in Kid Kapichi. And that’s all been cleverly orchestrated around the dropping of their third album, ‘There Goes The Neighbourhood’.

Harnessing the trademark yellow of the original Neighbourhood Watch sticker emblazoned on windows, in a punky neon, and with demonically distorted people wielding arms instead, they certainly start to put their anti-establishment pitch across visually. Then, through the opening track, ‘Artillery’, they start to assemble their weapons of alt-rock choice. Naturally, a solid beat, crunchy lead riff and spoken vocals give the track its wings, but through transparent lyrics about ignorance being bliss ‘when there’s money in your fist’, it takes a finger-pointing stance nice and quickly. A theme expected from the lads, given their usual politically motivated tunes. 

And the tempo is soon set for what’s to come — especially in the prior-released singles, ‘999’ and ‘Zombie Nation’ (the latter with Suggs), plus in the just-landed, craftily titled ‘Can EU Hear Me?’. That said, there’s a whole lot of KK playfulness interspersed on this record, from the night-out monologuing on ‘Get Down’ to the romantic confusion documented in ‘Angeline’. You’ll find so much wit, too, whether it’s rhyming or scheming. 

But for me, the one that hits home the most is ‘Tamagotchi’, a tongue-in-cheek ode to the throwback-style ‘90s gadgets and gizmos, in honour of band members’ 30th birthdays. As I’ve of course celebrated mine lately, there’s a lot of really relatable stuff here; they’ve left no nostalgic stone unturned. 

For those seeking something softer, the final offering, ‘Jimi’, is an all-acoustic piece that rounds things off peacefully and pleasantly — like a nightcap in song form. Prefer more funk than punk? A seriously groovy hook dominates ‘Subaru’, which is perhaps my new favourite. While ‘Let’s Get To Work’ was my former standout, this car-orientated track is catchy, fun and guaranteed to get you on your feet. So I can’t wait to hear this, among the others, played live soon!

If you only download one track, let it be: ‘Let’s Get To Work’