Kinski

Editor's Review:

This Seattle-born four-piece - Chris Martin (guitar), Lucy Atkinson (bass, vocals), Dave Weeks (drums) and Matthew Reid-Schwartz (guitar) - deftly blend a variety of honest, powerful and emotive styles and constructions to create their own rock entity. The result of this quartet's endeavor is one of the most interesting and promising sounds to come out of Seattle in years.
Kinski does not placate people who become mindless when the radio is clicked on and require immediate gratification from their music; there's too much depth, color and understated magnitude in Kinski's rock to appeal to simple tastes. Prospective followers of this Northwestern group must be able to hear the intense joy in the subtle creeping progression of the minimalist guitar strokes that transform into edgy riffs on "Schedule for Using Pillows & Beanbags." They must embrace the soft and spacey tones, the resonant futuristic effects, and jarring interludes of screaming feedback, just as much as they fiend for the power within the slamming, riff mongering passages of rock, which always seem to have an ulterior motive. Subtle melodies ring out in harmonic tones among the oversized and driving riffs; fuzzy guitar solos scream in muted voices over bright snare snaps and splashy cymbal work.
Airs Above Your Station represents a range of musical emotions and expressions, from the bright and sunny to the dark and foreboding - much like the band's hometown - and in doing so, sets up Kinski as one of the preeminent (mostly) instrumental rock bands on the horizon of new music. Plus the album artwork is really cool.
- Max Sidman
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Bookmark:

Record Label Sub Pop Records Released January 2003

Tracks Steve's Basement Semaphore Rhode Island Freakout Schedule for Using Pillows & Beanbags I Think I Blew It Your Lights Are (Out Or) Burning Badly Waves of Second Guessing I Think I Blew It (Again)

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