What. An. Album. Not necessarily a throwback so much as it’s a celebration of the origins of Grunge and Alternative, the sophomore scorcher from LA-based Kills Birds is a 2021 essential listening experience that manages to also flip those respective genres on their heads and take them in a righteously rawkin’ new direction.
A steady stomp that never relents, “Rabbit” is a riotous call-to-arms led by Nina Ljeti’s commanding vocal presence and Bosh Rothman’s tumultuous tour-de-force drumming while Ljeti similarly drives “Cough Up Cherries” with a powerful performance that’s evocative of both Live Through This-era Hole and Yeah Yeah Yeah’s own Fever To Tell. “Natalie” digs deeper, providing greater insight into the greater Kills Birds sonic palette to come, with Fielder Thomas’ bass delivering a harmonious hum alongside Ljeti’s voice and flowing into “Glisten” which eventually ventures off into some old school Queens Of The Stone Age kind of Desert Rawk excursion (Think “Regular John” and self-titled era QOTSA here).
“Reasoning” is a driving ditty with Ljeti’s sustained vox succinctly synching up with Thomas, Rothman, and Jacob Loeb’s guitars with “Woman” acting as a neat noisy interlude before listeners get to be submerged in the dense waters of “PTL”. “Good Planning” captures the best moments of (the) Melvins with a steady percussive thumping from Rothman echoing Dale Crover’s iconic pounding as a quirky complexity akin to the most recent record by TV Priest (Coincidentally on Sub Pop Records right now if we’re still talking Grunge) envelopes all.
“Wallowing” is a feverish rawker that’s an unabashed shredder thanks to Loeb and accented by Rothman and Thomas’ refined rhythm section with a quieter finish that segue’s nicely into Married‘s finale and a title track that is equally introspective, intimate, intricate, and an all around acoustic affair (For the most part) with string flourishes that glisten and glow.
Married is out on November 12th through Royal Mountain Records and KRO Records. Peruse a plethora of pre-order options now by clicking here and for more on Kills Birds, follow the trail of socials when you head here, here, or here.