Kingdom of Suicide Lovers

Distant Waves (Golden Hour Records/Super Secret Records)

Like fictional lovers disappearing into a fog-shrouded abyss, the debut LP from this Glorium/Faceless Werewolves amalgam channels darkness and romance in equal parts. Kingdom of Suicide Lovers combines sizzling post-punk impressionism with breathy, boy/girl vocal interplay in a manner finding antecedents in dreamlike dystopian duets like X’s “The Unheard Music” and Sonic Youth’s “Death Valley ’69.” Announcing themselves with a hard-boiled guitar chord, the well-pedigreed local trio launches into opener “Red Tent” at desert highway speed. Drummer Baldomero Valdez puts the hammer down as marrieds Paul Streckfus and Kelsey Wickliffe trade opaque, telegraph missive lyrics. While the bulk of Distant Waves is guitar-driven, “This Isn’t Easy To Say” incorporates psychedelic organ sounds to heighten the eeriness. The reprise of the title track goes even further, incanting Tangerine Dream by way of 45 Grave for a retro-futuristic ghoul rock finish. Despite KOSL’s penchant for the foreboding, its provocative, electric delivery is anything but morose.

***.5

This article appears in September 21 • 2012.

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Greg Beets was born in Lubbock on the day Richard Nixon was elected president. He has covered music for the Chronicle since 1992, writing about everyone from Roky Erickson to Yanni. Beets has also written for Billboard,Uncut, Blurt, Elmore, and Pop Culture Press. Before his digestive tract cried uncle, he co-published Hey! Hey! Buffet!, an award-winning fanzine about all-you-can-eat buffets.