Kiros
Lay Your Weapons Down

A moment of divine time, is the translated meaning of the greek word Kiros that is also used as a band name of this Canadian rock band. When using a popular internet search engine looking for this band’s name, lots of christian music sites show up and the press information speaks of lyrics based in faith. That is something worrying when looking for info about a band as religious band tend to be complete and utter rubbish more often than not. Fortunately I had no idea about any of this when I started listening to this album for this review, that is one of the advantages I guess with not wanting to know anything about the band before having made up my mind about what I think of them, a good way to avoid preconceptions I guess. The press information also spoke of the advantages and disadvantages of a double-edged sword, and how this band manages to pull of an album in three acts. One thing they do have is a good title on their third album and also a good looking album, I wonder if these themes is in the lyrics of the album but decide not to care as I don’t have time to look into such things.

Musically it is pop rock, or maybe punk should be in there as well as it is all of that. It is melodic and catchy, positive and energetic I would say that it is as well. The faith based lyrics is not taking any more place than ordinary lyrics so for all of you who worried about a preachy album, don’t. Maybe not the most unique or innovative album but they do have a style that is recognisable as Kiros and the album is quite varied within the stylistic framework the band use for this album. Most songs are uptempo but it ends in a ballad and sometimes the tempo go down a little bit which adds to the sense of the album being varied. The production and sound is modern and positive, clean and probably quite radio friendly. All this on an album that has ten tracks and plays for 37 and a half minute. There is also a sublayer of classic undertones giving this album more depth than what might be detectable at first glance, it is an album with more layers than what might be visible at first glance.

I think this is a good album, or rather a great one with powerful songs and good melodies and a general catchiness that makes it a great album. I think that easily accessible should be added to the description but still with enough depth to be fresh and entertaining for an extended period of time and the fact that the lyrical content is not preached by the band makes it even better. In the press info they were saying that the album was laid out in three acts and it might so be but it is nothing that you notice while playing the album, just a great collection of songs that hold both a high quality and great energy as well as variation and depth.

I think the best two tracks is the fifth What Can Stop Me Now which is a powerful and melodic midtempo song, and the ending ballad Something Beautiful which ends it perfectly. The downside of this album might be the lack of innovative thinking but with the quality and sense of freshness this band still possess it is not a big problem, but sure if you listen to this kind of music time and time again every day it might be a bigger problem than it is for me.

So, Kiros has been a great new musical acquaintance and one that I have returned to several times and not just because I was reviewing the album, the 25 plays so far is a good witness of this fact. So if you enjoy poppy rock music with a positive attitude, then you have a fine album to sink your teeth into here. If you do prefer other kinds of music I still think this is well worth lending an ear. In short a very good and attractive album that is not to be overlooked.

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