 |
| For a long time, the Kiss Offs were at the top of my list of Bands I Want
A Full Album From. Now I can be happy. Truly accomplished purveyors
of the punk-pop phenomenon, the Kiss Offs combine blaring, sharp-edged
guitar power, swaggering organ backing, jackhammer drums and a male/female
vocal attack that'll singe your eyebrows off. They effing rock, mate.
There's
a healthy dollop of punk rock credibility spattered over every single song.
"Dream Date" makes an indelible opening statement, sounding like the B-52s --
an inevitable comparison heightened by vocalist Katey Jones' use of
dead-on Cindy Wilson vocal mannerisms -- cutting a horror movie soundtrack
with Steve Albini behind the board. Slower-paced songs like "Hey Cowboy"
possess a deadly undercurrent of mockery, supported by wan vocals and
gobs of attitude. "Love's Evidence" appears to cop a "lyric" from
"LaGrange", building it into a chorus of chugging guitars and droning organ,
while "Bottle Blonge" struts, pouts and poses in the finest glam rock style.
The exceptional "Kiss That Kills", so effective as a single, loses none of its
impact when reproduced among the other stellar tracks here. As a perfect
soundtrack to beach parties, yard parties, car parties or bedroom-trashing
parties, Goodbye Private Life is already looking like one of the
most indispensable discs of '99. |
|
![[splendid reviews]](../reviewbanner.gif){kind=small}
