If you love a happy mixture of alternative pop and Americana with singer/songwriter influences then you’ll want to check out the latest album from Finnish indie-pop act Koria Kitten Riot. Their third release ‘Rich Men Poor Men Good Men’ is fronted by singer-songwriter Antti Reikko and is their first full band effort.
KKR are the moniker of Helsinki, Finland musician Antti Reikko and he has a knack for combining sunny 1960s-inspired melodies with a hint of punk and new wave edge. His solo work is just as impressive, and with this new album he proves himself once again to be an artist with a voice to be reckoned with.
Reikko has a background in film, so it is no surprise that he delivers a prodigious amount of dramatic structure into his songs. It’s a genuinely beautiful thing, and he has the innate gift of turning the most mundane of subjects into a poignant song that could be heard in a heart-warming indie film – aided by some very bijou music videos (see below).
Rich Men Poor Mangood Men is an album with plenty to offer the listener in terms of cheerful, instrument-stuffed indie-pop. It reminds me of the mid-’00s when bands like Annuals, Grandaddy and the Shins were doing a very particular sort of indie-pop that didn’t quite get as much airplay as it should have.
‘Rich Men Poor Mangood Men’ is the kind of album you can listen to over and over again and still find something new each time. It’s an uplifting record with a lot to say about humanity and the fragility of life, and Reikko’s gentle melodic songwriting gives a sense of hope that lies just around the corner.