By Joanne
Released:October 28, 2003
Label:Fearless Records
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I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical when popping this CD into my Walkman. Sure, The Kinison had toured with Blink 182…but so hadn't Bubba Sparxxx. To be honest, I hadn't heard much, well, anything, good about this band. I tried to block all that out and give this CD a fair review.
The first thing that came into my head when the first track 'Hey Hey Hey' began was Hot Hot Heat. The vocals are virtually identical to those in Hot Hot Heat but the music is quite a bit different. I don't think that the vocals particularly fit with this type of music but it wasn't jaw dropping terrible. Until the attempted screaming came in. I thought there was something wrong with my Walkman. Had gremlins invaded my headphones? Unfortunately, not. I couldn't even tell what was being "screamed". It was weak, shrieky screaming and not at all pleasing. I decided to fast forward to the next track in hopes of something better, but alas, it was not. I couldn't help but think that this band would go so much further if they'd stop trying to be the next screamo band. Even if vocalist Chris could work on his scream and get some more power and depth to it, they'd be okay. I decided to skip track two, 'New Way To Dance' too.
The next track started playing and immediately it reminded me of Thursday in the music sense. 'The Way I Used To Be' is the only track on this album I actually enjoyed. Definitely sounded similar to Thursday and there wasn't too much shrieking, and the little that there was accented to the vocals decently. The Hot Hot Heat vibe wasn't as apparent in this track as in the other four.
I really don't have much to say about the last two tracks on the album. They resembled the monotony of the first two. I listened through this disc three times in hopes of forming my own opinion not based on what I had heard, and this review was the result. I enjoyed the singing parts, and the instrumental side of the music wasn't that bad. But the horrible shrieking was enough to turn me off of this band for now. If you enjoy Hot Hot Heat or Thursday, there is a slim chance you'd like this album.
Track Listing:
1. Hey Hey Hey
For More Information:
2. New Way To Dance
3. The Way I Used To Be
4. Sorry. I'm A Pushover
5. The Kinison's Area 53
• Official Site: www.thekinison.com
• Label's Official Site: www.fearlessrecords.com