I randomly came across “Driving Manual Auto” by KaitO the other day and it occurred to me that we haven’t heard from those guys in quite some time. After a little digging, I discovered that they broke up in 2006 after an eight-year run. Drat! Adding insult to injury, I also found out that their record label, spinART, apparently is no longer functioning.

KaitO – Driving Manual Auto

Are the days of spastic yet melodic noise rockers over? At the beginning of the decade it seemed that bands like KaitO, The Rapture, Glass Candy and pals were the future. Now, KaitO’s final album, Band Red, is selling for literally cents on the internet, unwanted. The train moves on, though; Just as Sonic Youth influenced KaitO, KaitO has in turn inspired bands like Bearsuit to carry on sugarrushcore (is that a genre yet? should be).

Before we leave KaitO to the ages, let’s have a look at them. Until I saw this video I was under the assumption that the band was Japanese. English, it would seem. Just a bit off. Nice Kim Deal impression, by the way.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=iQsjK96ptaA]

Sounds kind of like shoegaze at double-speed, eh?