Having dropped the trademark piano out of the mix and replaced it with lush and icy keyboards,
the Kilowatthours, if anything, seem more sure of themselves as songwriters and arrangers. The band is now moving toward a more pronounced
Radiohead sensibility, with Trevor Kampmann (aka HollAnd) starring as its Nigel Godrich in the creation of pensive and paranoid soundscapes, full of angular guitar eruptions and rising and falling drumming paired with memorable yet simple hooks. As such,
The Bright Side comes off as the album that
the Kilowatthours spent the most time laboring in the studio over, as their entire dynamic appears more refined and mature. So even if the qualities that previously made them stand out from the pack (i.e., the reliance on piano) are now somewhat muted,
the Kilowatthours emerge having moved their craft ahead in the process. ~ Matt Fink