Now and then it's nice to encounter a band who are cultured. You know a little sophistication in personality which in turn can be reflected in what they perform. Though perhaps in danger of insulting the integrity of their potential fan base (if their hilarious online biography is to be believed), Kochka are a Glasgow-born quartet who are nonetheless intent on getting bodies to squirm on the dance floor. Is their sound as sharp as their wit?
To begin at the beginning, on "Cowards and Kings", the art school twang of Television and their Scottish offspring, Franz Ferdinand, can be detected immediately. No bad thing. Front man Markk "Chalky" Donnelly's inoffensive tones fit well with the catchy nature of the track. And we're off to a good start!
For all the enquiring minds out there, "dacha" is the Russian word for a summer house. So, "Dacha (In the Summer) makes more sense now. Beyond the language barrier in the title, what remains is a rather enjoyable four minutes of smarter-than-you art-rock. In the end, you don't need to know Russian as long as you can dance. Next up is "Memory Box/Personal Effects". So we have two titles. A jazzy drum pattern welcomes the rest of the instruments into the fold. On the surface, not the most challenging of song, but competent musicianship is to be detected - in particular, some commendable guitar playing. Plus, I'm sure you could dance to it too. Rounding off the EP is "Black Cat". To call it infectious from the first percussion note is being rather nice. You'll be lucky if you don't find your feet reacting involuntarily with the floor throughout this one. An all-round fine effort.
You can't help but sense that this EP is only a mere sign of things to come from this band. Funky, deliberate - and probably very cool - this band is on the ascent.