Kal Marks
Life is Murder
Exploding In Sound
Street: 09.17
Kal Marks = Federation X + Pavement
Boston’s Kal Marks blend anger with sincere desperation in Life is Murder. You don’t know what to expect from opening track “Love is a Song … Not an Answer,” as it starts with some random violin noises, but then, behold Carl Shane’s odd vocals come in. It doesn’t take long to get over Shane’s potato-stuck-in-throat voice and feel the sense of loneliness in his lyrics, screamed over a thick slab of bass and feedback—“I have never been so happy with a bottle of lotion in my life” Shane squeaks on title track. The track that I consider “my jam” off this album is “All I Want in Life is a Solid Porch”—it’s full of tempo changes, feedback and traumatic lyrics. I really didn’t think I would grow to like, let alone love and respect Shane’s unconventional vocals, but they make this album a solid piece that is unlike anything I’ve heard recently. –Darcy Wouters-Russell