Kinski
Airs Above Your Station (Sub Pop) Methinks it was not the narcotic sound sculptures that attracted Sub Pop Records to Kinski. No, it must’ve been the big fuzz-jam freak-outs that pushed this Seattle quartet onto the Sub Pop roster and to the head of the drone-rock class. Ten-minute opener “Steve’s Basement” quickly reveals Kinski’s m.o., opening with the meandering hum of an amp, gradually adding gentle guitar strum, then building into a pummeling rock leviathan midway through. “Semaphore” is even better, with tremolo distortion giving way to a tsunami of pure sound, over which lead guitarist Chris Martin lays some fat, cosmic solos before the whole affair screeches into the fast lane, tail pipe a-smokin’. Tall, dark, and raucous bassist Lucy Atkinson throws down the album’s one vocal with a Kim Gordon-esque cadence on “Rhode Island Freakout,” a spastic counterpoint to Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation ruby “The Sprawl.” Between the outbursts, there’s lots of meandering, most prominently on the eight-minute “I Think I Blew It (Again),” an inferior clone of Martin’s sleepy Ampbuzz side project. Ultimately, the album’s drone proves better suited as a break from the explosions than as an end unto itself. The five-minute ambient setup on “Waves of Second Guessing” is overlong, but when this baby kicks in, it’s a hyperkinetic thrill ride on the Great Space Coaster. Get on board. (Emo’s Main, Wednesday, 10pm)
This article appears in March 7 • 2003.