"Kriss Kross" / "Clarion" is a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

single by multinational band Guillemots. It was released on 28 September 2008 as a digital download, then as a

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition or expanded edition are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as b ...

10" record two weeks later. It was the first double A-side released by Guillemots. Lead singer

Fyfe Dangerfield Fyfe Antony Dangerfield Hutchins (born 7 July 1980) is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the founding member of the indie rock band Guillemots (band), Guillemots. Early life Born in Moseley, Birmingham, in 1980, he moved to Bro ...

explained: "We've always meant to put out a double A-side at some point, and we couldn't decide which of 'Kriss Kross' and 'Clarion' should be the next single, so now seemed like the right time to do both." Dangerfield was the sole writer of "Clarion"; "Kriss Kross" was credited to the entire band. Both songs were produced by Guillemots and record producer Adam Noble, and both were featured on Guillemots' second album, ''

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

''. "Kriss Kross" had already been made available to download for free from Guillemots' official website during February 2008. When officially rereleased as a download through the iTunes Store, the song was featured with "Clarion" as part of a digital EP, alongside a new song written at Latitude Festival 2008 entitled "Fishbone for a Drink", a live cover of "

Black and Gold Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

" by

Sam Sparro Samuel Falson (born 8 November 1982), better known by his stage name Sam Sparro, is an Australian singer, songwriter and record producer. He was signed to the British record label Island Records. Sparro is best known for his 2008 single " Bl ...

, and the music video for "Kriss Kross". The video was filmed in 2008, and was directed by Guillemots member

MC Lord Magrão Ricardo Bombine Pimentel (born October 5, 1978), known professionally as MC Lord Magrão (stylized as mCLoRDmAGrãO), is a Brazilian-British multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter and music producer best known as the former guitarist of Englis ...

, who uploaded it to his personal

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account during August 2008. Critical reception to "Kriss Kross" / "Clarion" was generally positive. After it was made available for free to download, "Kriss Kross" was described as "cool" by ''

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

'';

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praised its melody and Dangerfield's "trademark exubarence", but stated that its outro was "mundane". Andy Gill of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' described the song as having a "lumbering funk-rock groove", while Nick Orton of

Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site featuring music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 in ...

called it "aggressive", and "revealing a harder Guillemots than we’re accustomed to". A more critical review came from

Yahoo! Music UK Yahoo Music was a brand under which Yahoo provided music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008. Pro ...

, who gave "Kriss Kross" a score of six out of ten, unfavourably comparing it with both British

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

band The Darkness and "

Kiss Kiss Kiss Kiss may refer to: Books * Kiss Kiss (book), ''Kiss Kiss'' (book), a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl Music * Kiss Kiss (band), an American indie rock band * Kiss Kiss (Japanese group), a Japanese girl group * Kiss Kiss (Chris Brown so ...

" by Australian singer

Holly Valance Holly Rachel Candy (; born 11 May 1983), known professionally as Holly Valance, is an Australian and British actress, singer, model, and a right-wing political activist. Valance became well known for her role as Felicity Scully on the Austra ...

Formats and track listings

*Digital download #"Kriss Kross" (Radio Edit) – #" Black & Gold" (Live in Jo Whiley's Live Lounge) – #"Clarion" (Radio Edit) – #"Fishbone for a Drink" – #"Kriss Kross" (music video) – *10" vinyl #"Kriss Kross" – #"

" (Live Lounge) – #"Clarion" – #"Fishbone for a Drink" –

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kriss Kross Clarion 2008 singles Guillemots (band) songs