$10 for Record // Name Your Price Download
Remembering
the first time that I heard Kent State is like remembering… well, something
that is not that easy to remember. I
found Kent State through a tag on Band Camp, saw that the majority of their
music (if not all) was free to download, and got on it. Since
then, I’ve reviewed and enjoyed about everything they’ve done, though sometimes
their choices for splits can be questionable.
Recently,
I saw that Kent State had released a new cassette split with Shivering
Window. Of course this caught my eye
because those happen to be two of my favorite bands, so be able to listen to
them on cassette and not just as a free download really got my interest.
Before
I could get to that cassette though, I then saw that Kent State had released a
live album, which I went back and forth about reviewing because quite frankly,
Kent State rocks, they rock live, so there isn’t a whole lot to be said about
live albums once you’ve established that the bands behind them are good.
Deciding
to ignore a review of the live album and instead focus on the cassette review
lead me to this album popping up on Band Camp and my declaration of “Wow, Kent
State just keep s cranking out the hits”.
If you’ve
ever read one of my reviews of Kent State before, you inevitably know that I am
a fan. This album does not change that
fact at all. These songs continue that
tradition of indie rock mixed with punk.
They’re garage, but they’re not.
You can hear Nirvana in “Formaldehyde” and Dramarama on “Secrets for
Sale”. The Replacements seem like a
natural comparison, but yet on this album so do the Ramones.
If you’ve
never heard Kent State before, yes, I would definitely make this your starting point
to beginning a musical adventure that will change your life forever. But if you are listening to these guys for
the first time with this album, just make sure you go back and also get their
back catalog because you just cannot go wrong with Kent State.
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