The Kissaway Trail (formerly known as Isles or as Hostmom) are an undergrou… Read Full Bio ↴The Kissaway Trail (formerly known as Isles or as Hostmom) are an underground indie/artrock band from Odense, Denmark.
The band has five members:
Thomas L. Fagerlund - Vocals, Guitar
Søren B. Corneliussen - Vocals, Guitar
Daniel Skjoldmose - Guitar, Keys, Backing Vocals
Rune Pedersen - Bass, Backing vocals
Hasse Mydtskov - Drums, Backing vocals

Their sound is quite similar to some other Danish bands, such as The Figurines, Moi Caprice and Mew. Internationally, comparisons can be made to Modest Mouse, Mercury Rev, Arcade Fire and the Flaming Lips.

Three members of The Kissaway Trail (Søren, Thomas and Rune) originally recorded together under the names of ‘Hostmom’ and ‘Isles’. Isles self-released an album called "We have decided not to die" in 2005. Since then, an additional guitarist, Daniel, and drummer Hasse joined the band, while Thomas started to sing alongside Søren making the distinctive two lead-vocal sound that they have today. Various tracks from this early period of the bands history can still be downloaded from Danish music websites. The band’s musical existence very nearly ended when Søren lost his love for music after his father was killed under tragic circumstances. However, he made his own decision to start performing and recording again, and The Kissaway Trail started to create their debut album.

Their material is released in Europe (aside from Scandinavia) and Japan by Bella Union, Etch n Sketch in Australia and New Zealand, and Playground Music in Scandinavia. On their breakthrough album underground producer Morten Frank helped them in the studio.

The title of their song 61 relates to the number of days a band member had to wait to hear if their family member had a terminal illness. The member involved is kept under wraps, obviously for very personal reasons; some fans believe it is Hasse, the drummer, because he has a tattoo of the number '61' on his chest. Other sources suggest he just might have got the tattoo because, according to his own admission, 61 is his favourite song to play live.

In the Autumn of 2007, The Kissaway Trail acted as the main support for Editors on their UK and European tours, alongside Ra Ra Riot in the UK and The Boxer Rebellion in Europe.

The Kissaway Trail are renowned for their own individual slant on the English language within their lyrics.

The band have cited influences to their music include The Beach Boys, Granddaddy, Daniel Johnston and Sonic Youth, amongst others. The lack of an obvious way to describe their music has brought common comparisons between themselves and the Polyphonic Spree and Canadian band the Arcade Fire. There is some truth with these similarities.

The band have been known for their live performances, which have included songs from 'The Kissaway Trail', as well as b-sides such as 'Romeo And Romeo' and 'La Mia'. They have also performed at the Wireless, Latitude and SXSW festivals in 2007, and the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 2008, where they supported Interpol and The National.

The band released an EP called "Into the Ocean and Rise Again" in 2006, and their debut album called "The Kissaway Trail" was released in 2007 from which 3 singles have been taken to date (Smother + Evil = Hurt, La La Song & 61

New Lipstick
The Kissaway Trail Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Glasses full of fermented juice of grapes.
To winnow the truth from conflicting things.
The city lights were winking, lights were winking, tonight.
Yeah tonight.

Wine on your jumper of pure virgin yarn.
And our city torn by the young in grief.
Yeah, the young one’s did it, the young one’s did it, tonight.

Yeah tonight.

Aahhhh…

She pouted to show off her new lipstick.
But really needed someone to hear her tale of woe.
The old wont get it, the old wont get us, tonight.
Us tonight.

Us tonight, again tonight, it’s all about tonight, the young one’s did
it tonight.
Yeah we did it tonight.

Ahhh..

Tell us what you want
Tell us what you need

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to The Kissaway Trail's song New Lipstick reflect on the experiences of a group of young people in a city, who are trying to navigate their way through various trials and tribulations. The first verse talks about drinking wine, which is a metaphor for trying to decipher the truth from conflicting information. The second verse speaks about the city being torn apart by the pain felt by the younger generation, who are struggling to come to terms with the injustices of the world. The chorus emphasizes the idea that young people feel misunderstood by the older generation, who do not understand their struggles and are unable to relate to their experiences.

Overall, the message of the song seems to be a call to attention for the older generation to look at the struggles of the younger generation and to try and understand them. It is a plea for empathy and a desire to be heard and understood. The use of metaphors like fermented grape juice and new lipstick add to the sense of youthful longing and a desire for connection with others.

Line by Line Meaning

Glasses full of fermented juice of grapes.
Drinking wine to cope with the stress of life.

To winnow the truth from conflicting things.
Trying to separate the truth from lies and confusion.

The city lights were winking, lights were winking, tonight.
The lights of the city were shining bright on this particular evening.

Yeah tonight.
Emphasizing the importance of this specific night.

Wine on your jumper of pure virgin yarn.
Staining your clothes with wine while trying to cope with heartbreak.

And our city torn by the young in grief.
The young people of the city are feeling upset and lost.

Yeah, the young one’s did it, the young one’s did it, tonight.
The young people of the city are responsible for something that happened tonight.

Aahhhh…
An expression of emotion or longing.

She pouted to show off her new lipstick.
Trying to draw attention to oneself by showcasing new makeup.

But really needed someone to hear her tale of woe.
Desperately wanting someone to listen to their problems and provide comfort.

The old wont get it, the old wont get us, tonight.
Feeling disconnected from older generations and their values.

Us tonight.
Emphasizing the importance of being together on this particular night.

Us tonight, again tonight, it’s all about tonight, the young one’s did it tonight.
Repeating the importance of the young people and their actions tonight.

Yeah we did it tonight.
Taking pride in the actions of the young people on this particular night.

Ahhh..
An expression of emotion or longing.

Tell us what you want
Asking for clarity and direction from someone.

Tell us what you need
Asking for clarity and guidance from someone.

Contributed by Declan A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS