Our Song of the Day begins with the sun on Galway Bay, courtesy of Dubliner David Kitt and his new single “Like Lightning“. It’s taken from his new album Yous which finds him not only back in fine form but with an album that has already garnered some great reviews with the Irish Times describing it as exemplary in its focus from start to finish. Yous is due out 9th March on Dublin’s own All City Records. David shared the following about the song:
“This was written about a rollover with two good friends in Galway having missed the bus back to Dublin. There’s a little nod to ‘The Sultans of Swing’ by Dire Straits in there. My dad is a massive Mark Knopfler fan and I grew up around all that stuff, him and J.J. Cale are big influences on some of the guitar playing on this record. I can hear the Arthur Russell connection too.”
Described as mingling a sense of freedom, and calm reflection, with an independent impulse, Yous is David’s first solo album since The Nightsaver (2009). “This is the most free I’ve felt making a record since my debut Small Moments” says Kitt. “There was no pressure whatsoever. I was happy to wait as long as it took to have the right 10 songs”.
The resultant album is a finely wrought and elemental piece of work, folding in electronic hisses and beats that ground carefully finger-picked guitars and stirring violin, weaving between glorious pop-kissed melodies and stark, immersive, poignant compositions – something Kitt does so well.
In the spirit of J.J. Cale, Love is Overtaking Me-era Arthur Russell, and Ronnie Lane, the relaxed nature of the album was intentional, “I’m getting my electronics fix from New Jackson, so I wanted to leave room for all the live instrumentation on this, and keep the backing as simple as possible, to let every element have room to breathe, and be heard, and have a strong personality.”
Yous marks a welcome return from David Kitt and is sure to grow his audience, he certainly deserves it.