Culkin
Demo
self-released
The evidence of members of KVLR in Culkin is obvious as "Pay per fist" bursts alive in a chaotic display of Scandinavian indierock. And, as with many outstanding records, the lo-fi production adds a wonderfully human element to the compositions. This demo release almost perfectly encapsulates what has been left out of many of the recent advances into the rock genre: thick, jangled guitar lines blurring over one another to form a wall of melody; vocal lines that don't attempt to set themselves above the instrumental fray, but impose themselves directly into this skirmish; an undulating framework that allows the compositions to easily, seamlessly shift between bouts of melancholy into sections of outright triumph. Imagine elements of shoegaze and post-rock, a healthy study of 90s acts like Sonic Youth, and an outright appreciation for the Scandinavian bands who helped reshape this bastard brand of indierock (see: The End Will Be Kicks) and you get a pretty good idea of what Culkin's all about. If this demo is any indication of what's in store, Culkin have quite a future in front of them -- one that I'll be watching very closely.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
