Degrees.k - Children OfThe Night Sky

Sat 31st Jul, 2004 in Music Reviews

Degrees.k originally hail from New Zealand but moved to Sydney in early 2003. After releasing two EPs and an album, they have just launched Children of the Night Sky which may sound like a hippy title but is far from it. This mini-album consists of seven tracks of pulsating, energetic rock which leave you wanting to see them tear it up live on stage.

The degrees.k sound is explosive. It is rock with balls and comparisons can definitely be made to other giant kiwi rockers Pacifier. But degrees.k are a little more accessible than some other hard rock outfits and that’s because they weave in pop and punk elements as well. It is these lighter pop sensibilities that perhaps give them a more radio friendly appeal and remind me of bands such as Superjesus.

In Children of the Night Sky, degrees.k have successfully managed to combine heavy rock dynamics with a subtle, introspective nature. Drums are prominent and the speedy, intricate pounding from Chris Spark creates rhythms similar to Queens Of The Stone Age. The roar of the drums is balanced out with strong vocals that tell honest stories of bus stops, mirrors and mindless jargon. Filling the sound are angular, jaggered guitars and heavy bass.

Degrees.k ignore the standard verse-chorus-verse song structure and have instead written songs which are varied and interesting. For example, the first single released from the album is called Worth It. This track is an offbeat sounding song with a slower pace than the other tracks on the album. Again playing with structure, the last song Click dips and falls into sonic madness before ending with controlled intensity.

The mini-album title, Children of the Night Sky, surfaces in the lyrics mid way in track four. The track is called Raindrop and it is a love song with the catchy (perhaps corny?) line “I have a love, For her I would die”. This song has a slightly punk/emo feel which can loosely be found in other tracks too. The variety in degrees.k’s songwriting is also apparent in Raindrop when they slow the pace right down in the middle and for a few moments it almost feels like a completely different song. However, I’m not sure if this slower section benefits the track, as it comes across a bit flimsy and uninteresting.

Worth It is the first single released from this album, but I don’t think it is the strongest track on the recording. The less frantic, more controlled nature of the song does make it a good choice for radio though. The highlights on this album are when degrees.k crank it up loud and hard. The pulsing rock energy and cleverly delivered precision of their faster material in tracks such as Radio Control and The Mirror come across as more powerful statements of what degrees.k are about. And I would think that this style would be more reminiscent of their live shows.

Overall, Children Of The Night Sky is an impressive release of rockin’ tracks.