Plummeting as though forcefully kicked down steep stairs, and now hopping rapidly on one foot to regain his balance, “Steve” grabs the audience instantly, the eponymous track of an album that really STARTS.
The guitar’s tone seizes the room, providing the feeling of a power tool used by a petulant child. The wild guitar ingredients amalgamated into a tasty treat are a reminder of Deerhoof, a group that the entire band is quick to admit is much to blame for their entire musical passion. And one cannot worship Deerhoof without worthy drumming.
Ian bops restlessly at the Throne, injecting fills that show his familiarity with the Stone’s marching bible “Stick Control” and seem to leave him weightless in the air for moments at a time while
he is on the upward bounce (Also, a piece of one of his drumsticks was airborne before the first song was over). The bass rocks back and forth as well, Jonah rising onto his toes to match the ascent in the vocal parts. Krill’s tracks weave a twisted path, each band member physically matching their musical part’s role to create a spectacle that almost allows one to understand how their music can sound like two different creatures heading in opposite directions and arriving in the same spot. The song stops suddenly with a note that sounds like a mistake, the sound of madness unplugged without warning, and powering down.
During obligatory in-between song banter, Jonah shares that the last track from the new album had been laid down earlier that day. Release date unknown. The album will most certainly contain harmonics, however, for there were many of these, and the subdued sections that they induced provided a larger margin for contemplative orchestration matching Jonah’s vocal parts, from which the rest of the music is later derived during the writing process.
Genius is evident, in that the vocals sound like the sleepily processed thoughts of one depressed in bed deciding whether or not to face the world, yet the other instruments embody total rhythmic tonal conviction, crushing any uncertainty, the diametrical flip-side to the part played by the melody.
The two are fused for Purity of Heart, full of passionate musical stomps, a small kid using a tree as a punching bag, forgetting that it hurts, and feeling all-powerful. Start and stops, and drum parts that one could not beatbox while keeping the body still — I know I was dancing, and feeling determined, my heartbeat in time with Krill’s sweet punctuated pulse. While making noise in my basement, Krill is my constant goal.
AARON – Guitar – amp cramps
JONAH – Bass/Vox – voicing all of the daily thoughts and triumphs
IAN – Drums (bass, snare, floor tom, w/one cymbal + hats) – large circle/square glasses not
worn while playing the drums
Set:
Steve Hears Pile in Malden and Bursts into Tears
Solitaire
*1st Track of New Album*
*Unknown New Track*
*Unknown New Track (Something about moms)*
Purity of Heart
*Unknown New Track (Something about tigers)*
