Cardiff’s Columbia have been building a reputation for destructive rock ’n’ roll this past eighteen month. Can their latest single ‘Keys to the Kingdom’ follow suit?
They waste no time in setting ablaze once more. Taking the febrile ‘Reason is Treason’ and turning it into a Knebworth-sized piece of rock is a masterstroke. It allows frontman Craig Lewis to pull back during the verses. Sitting in the pocket, snarling, waiting to attack raises the menace of this track tenfold.
Lewis’ refrain allows for the guitarist Ben and bassist Aaron to flourish. Arron’s basslines have that early firesome funk of Kasasbian and The Music, which, alongside the colossal riffs, begin to make the 00s sound like they were recorded with Stephen Stills in a debauched 70s studio.
When it all chimes in the closing stages, those big psychedelic rock moments Liam yearned for post ‘Heathen Chemistry’ become a reality. With an album due later this year, Columbia could be set for an album of the year.