Kynan dared.
With one steel-cap shod foot on the ground and one firmly planted up the arse of Silverchair�s Daniel Johns, Kynan burst onto the Australian music scene with the biggest rock anthem since Johnny Farnham introduced us to his hired help. �Crack� not only rocketed up the Australian charts but brought the band international acclaim, and their debut album �(the dark violence of)� simply compounded the belief that this powerful new force was not only here to stay, but also here to destroy the Dark Side and rebuild the Empire.
The original core line-up of MJ, Crusty Nuts and The Cheese hasn�t changed since they first came together over a post-church lunch at the Belconnen Mall Food Court. In 2001, their second album �My Sweet Caroline� saw the addition of honorary members Karlos and Ho Yee to give the Kynan sound a new twist that whilst being a little more electronic and funky was nonetheless still totally rock as. In actual fact, Kynan refused to walk in their own footsteps, laughingly plunging into the bushy undergrowth of �rock � style yet to be classified� and thumbing their unpierced noses at those who might dare attempt to follow.
It was ironic that after the release in 2003 of the third album �Oi! That�s my schnitzel!� fans gave Kynan�s style its own title of �posh� rock. This stemmed from partly from the musical flavour but also from MJ�s habit of daintily sticking out her pinky fingers while playing bass, and from various members frocking it up every now and then. Rather than turn their low-cut, sequin-spangled backs on those who made Kynan the success it is, the band responded with their own addition, the now-famous �posh rock salute�.
With a live show that�s part rock gig, part theatrical spectacular, and part �Funniest Home Videos� Kynan have not only won many fans who would willingly place themselves under the �die-hard� banner, and also won much cricital acclaim from unlikely sections of the music and artistic community.
�On Stage� magazine: �Their stage productions are...masterful. �The Squirrel and the Woodcutter� is a brilliant satire, executed with such cunning, maturity and sheer breathless abandon... In particular MJ, as the tree, literally made me howl into my cravat.�
It has been a long wait for their fourth original release, �Superheated Honey�. Various side-projects, sabbaticals and touring stretched out the song-writing process, but to all who hear the album the wait has been well worth it. Steadfastly refusing to come down with the recent viral strains of numetal and emo, Kynan have delivered a new masterpiece, showing a softer, more stripped back side of the band at times, yet not without the distinctive raw guitar sound they are known and loved for. Deep lyrics sung breathily over energetic, harmonious backings contrast with swirling eddies of melody and rhythmical intricacy. It is posh. And it is rock. But the whole is infinitely greater than the sum of the parts.