I’d heard the name Kithkin kicked around for a little while but it wasn’t until City Arts Magazine, named them in their “Best new music of 2013” issue, that I gave them a try, and I didn’t like it. That might be putting it strong, the song felt like four instruments each playing a different song, so I did like it, just not all at once. It wasn’t until later that year when I saw Kithkin at Bumbershoot that things really clicked for me, and I actually fell in love with the band. I saw the sound merge and the energy of the band flourish. I couldn’t hear this mess that I’d heard before, it all seemed towork perfectly.
I mention some version of that last paragraph every time I talk about Kithkin, and until now I’ve done so because it stands in stark contrast to most of the bands I’ve raved about here, who I loved almost instantly. I’m officially retiring that story after this article, but I wanted to mention it one more time so that you can better understand what I mean when I say that Rituals,Trances & Ecstasies For Humans in Face of The Collapse, perfectly embodies the energy and the artistry of what I saw at Bumbershoot that made me fall in love.
Rituals… is more or less a direct continuation to the band’s 2012 EP Takers & Leavers, which was five songs divided by three brief instrumental percussive tracks, “Dins.” Rituals… starts off with Din IV, before pounding into the intense fever dream of Fallen Giants. The thematic relation between the EP and Rituals… however does not mean that the experience is the same. Rituals… was produced by Shawn Simmons who’s the master producer behind albums from Lemolo, the Head and the Heart, and the Maldives, here he just seems to get the absolute most of out these tree punks. He punches the percussion up to take center stage, and accents that with snarls, growls, yelps, and howls, all with this undertone of natural organic earthy life. Simmons helps breath fire into this album that results in a genuine Kithkin experience.
Kithkin is unlike any live performance you’ll see, they don’t break between songs to chat with the crowd while they re-tune, tighten, and adjust, they simply flow from one song to the next, so much so that it’s difficult to tell when one song ends and the next begins. This album finds that same flow and manages to squeeze it into a completely aural experience, from the first thunder of Din IV to last keys of the organ on Sorcerer, there is hardly room for a breath, you’re thrown into this magical world of Kithkin and expected to survive until it’s all over. Had I heard this album first I think that their music would have made far more sense to me, but at this point, I only see the genius and can’t picture the chaos that so confused me in the beginning.
What I hadn’t expected from Kithkin, though the early release of the album’s standout track Altered Beast hinted at, was the emotional tone of the album. The sheer amount of perceived shtick that’s poured into Kithkin, could make you believe that this is pure detached enjoyment or parody. Each member goes by a moniker and symbol that’s plucked from bad 80’s nostalgia, but it’s more likely the name of a custom character in Dungeons and Dragons. Likewise they all play percussion, and the stage is littered with pagan imagery and artifacts, they’re fond of using the term “Cascadian youth tribe,” and if there was such a thing- there is now, Kithkin would be it. But don’t let any of that Magic the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, and tree imagery cloud the fact that somehow this album really tugs at your heart. “It [the album] is intended for questing, thrashing, and confronting the end of things,” the band writes, which is a broad statement, but loss and the theme of coming to terms with circumstances plays throughout, and it’s presented in such a way that I found myself becoming far more affected by it than I expected.
That emotional tone is found in more than just the lyrical content of the album, the instrumental arrangement, the fire in the chants and vocals, even the use of the peacock yelp, which I’ve always thought has the tonal qualities of a baby, carry genuine feeling. Just listen to the way that Kelton Sears’ bass crunches like the whole instrument is falling apart, the way Alex Barr’s guitar howls and wallows in ecstasy, the way Bob Martin cradles on the keys or manipulates on the theremin, or how Ian McCutcheon thunders on the drums, or belts out in agony and elation. You’ll be hard pressed to find more passion packed into twelve songs, than what you find here on Rituals…, Kithkin pour everything they have into the album.
There is no one like Kithkin, I’m not even sure who you could compare them to, or what box would be most appropriate to label them under. Rock is spilled all over these songs, but punk mentality and aggression permeate as well, large group chants, and quaking drums, deliver a uniquely northwest tribal experience. I don’t think Kithkin could happen anywhere else, and if they did, the lack of our organic and naturalistic sensibilities would diminish the immense power in what you hear. You should be rolling your eyes at all the kitsch, it’s like someone stole all your green magic cards and made a band, they probably did, and instead of something stupid and shitty to be laughed at, you get something jaw dropping, something beautiful, something completely sincere, and fucking amazing.
When I was send Rituals… a few weeks back, I immediately began listening to it, and didn’t stop until I’d gone all the way through, twice. I listened to it so much that by the time it was released on Tuesday I found myself unprepared to put its impact on me into intelligent words. Occasionally this happens, an album just rocks you so hard, and cuts straight to an emotional core that organizing your thoughts into something meaningful fails again and again. There’s nothing quite like experiencing the passion of Kithkin live, but the magic of Rituals… is that it comes closer to capturing what a band feels like live than any I’ve ever heard.
Dive into Rituals, Trances & Ecstasies For Humans in Face of The Collapse right now, don’t wait, it’s an experience truly worth having. The album is out now on Pesanta Urfolk records, you can get it right here. You can’t say this about every album, even very good albums, but I feel like I’m a better person for having listened to Rituals… Kithkin will be playing at Sasquatch this weekend, and will hightail it back to Seattle to play their album release show at the Crocodile on 5/24.
Kithkin: website/facebook/twitter
The post REVIEW: KITHKIN: RITUALS, TRANCES & ECSTASIES FOR HUMANS IN FACE OF THE COLLAPSE appeared first on secretly important.