The Knids latest single offer the same toe-tapping pop rock they are now known for. Doesn’t Make It Right has overtones of The Cars and other 80’s rock-tinged pop, not that it’s an easy thing to pull off! It's a time honoured art form based on the tradition of radio listeners' behaviours and attention spans.

The band describes themselves as lo-fi, but this song has an impressive amount of well recorded instruments displayed in a well-balanced mix. The song is energetic with a throbbing, busy bass line accompanied by an upbeat drum pattern, allowing the guitar to play long sustained chords over the top. Prominent synths (that allude to The Cars comparison) play a catchy melody over the intro and chorus, then join the guitar in creating a pad for the bass and drums to take charge in the verse.

The vocals here from Chris Shennen are nicely sung within his range with a ‘salt n’ pepper’ roughness that adds to the charm. Here he sings a breathy break that I could believe Joey Ramone singing in the peppiest incarnation of The Ramones. Other bands that remind me of their sound are The Pretenders, The Romantics and New Zealand’s own Split Enz.

The lyrics in Doesn't Make It Right offer slightly different associations from the bright music, about being told he is ‘useless’. I believe this song may be a soft protest against someone or something, perhaps a company or society in general. This is kept vague, allowing the listener to project similar emotions they feel onto other sources of frustration. Later, Shennen sings “I can’t face the truth, Again in time, When you turn to face me, Pretend to lie” which only adds to the mystery but confirms the frustration the song might be based on.

The song takes a tasteful break for a full two seconds, allowing an understated, sensible reverb to be heard for a moment, then the band returns with a crash and two more choruses. This gap would go down well in a live setting I’m sure.

However, the song is very simple and straight-forward. There's nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but a synth break, a bridge where the vibe changed or perhaps a guitar solo would have been nice to really push this song into something fantastic. Everything here is controlled and quite polished for 'lo-fi', but it's great nonetheless – it's a fun, pop gem really. Give it a spin!

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