Kills Birds : Crave

When I was 18 oldies rock and roll were bands like the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks, and surf music. Those bands seemed light years away from what I was listening to. Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, NIN, Garbage, etc…they were the future. The British Invasion and the Beach Boys were the past. Well fast forward 30 or so years later and guess what? All those 90s bands are the “classic” rock staples. They’re ancient and are being discovered by the youngsters just like the Beatles and Stones were by me in my late teens and early 20s.

I’m old now. That’s a fact. And what I was listening to back then is now 30 years aged. This isn’t really a bad thing, just a sort of a stark reminder of how the aging process works. And how quickly time rolls on, man.

New bands are being influenced by nineties grunge and alternative, much like I was influenced by the oldies of the 60s. One such band is L.A.’s Kills Birds. The four-piece rock band is led by vocalist Nina Ljeti and she leads like a General going into battle. Her vocals sway from quiet and introverted to hell fire fury and Riot Grrrl shrieks. The guitars chug and crunch like a bulldozer. On the band’s release Crave the band plows through five songs of sonic power and pummeling riffage. It’s fiery and in your face.

You hear influences ranging from Deftones to Soundgarden to the loud quiet loud of the Pixies. There’s also the My Bloody Valentine-by-way-of Smashing Pumpkins wall of guitar fuzz. “Behind” opens in a kind of indifferent dissonance before exploding into guitar fury. Nina Ljeti shows right away she’s a force to be reckoned with. “Pyre” has a more modern feel, hitting on bands like Dehd and Courtney Barnett. But if those bands were as excited about Polvo as they are about REM. “Madison” is as catchy as it is heavy, bringing in the loud-quiet-loud formula to stunning effect.

“Trace” moves on at a clip with an impenetrable wall of guitar, bringing Around The Fur-era Deftones to the proceedings. Closer “Hollow” is dreamy and contemplative bringing Smashing Pumpkins’ Gish vibes.

If more younger bands are instilling nineties metal and alternative as their musical foundation, we may right the ship yet still. Kills Birds’ are off to a great start with Crave.