The Kirkz

"Ratz"

By Jillian Abbene
(SugarBuzz Wash DC/Baltimore)

SugarBuzz Magazine

Let me tell you why I write reviews…it is the band(s) such as The Kirkz that have been around since 1998 that never ever reach the USA music market. Hell, I’m just finding out about them, and I’ll tell you what—I don’t think I’ll forget them. While christened by the TNS record label and their spit-fire mates The Revenge of the Psychotronic Man and The Shadowcops, these guys have managed to jump onto The Rebellion Fest stage this past August in Blackpool, UK without even finishing a full CD (due to launch January 2010). I can tell you that after listening to some of their old stuff that The Kirkz are consistent with their signature elements with assurance that these guys have found their sounded niche.

Listening to The Kirkz is one thing, describing their sound is a bit of another. However, just imagine for a minute that you have fallen overboard off a boat and have plunged into the sea. You feel your body sinking lower and lower as you hold your breathe—then suddenly, everything comes into focus as you panic, grasping for air. Instinctually, you paddle frantically and relentlessly to reach the top. That’s how it feels when I listen to The Kirkz. They give the listener that same sense of unmistaken able urgency/emergency. I can probably guess too, that if I saw them live, I would need to pay attention more so, as they have many twists and turns crammed within each song. It’s that signature hurtling melody pocketed into a light-hearted angst that guarantees ignition for an action-packed circle pit filled with half-crazed punks.

The Kirkz’ CD entitled, ‘Ratz,’ is a four-song taster-teaser. Despite the four tracks, it drives on all 6 cylinders, and not on all fours. The first song—you guessed it, ‘Ratz,’ is lead by Max’s lead vocals and a 1-2-3- beat on Ian’s comparable bass-line intros carbonating into a choppy, rollicking hyper ‘Dead-Pets’ mimic. Hard thuds by G-man on drums and searing guitar from Caesar screams as Max binds it all together with his scratched up snotty melody. It starts and stops more than once throughout the song. The beat is amazingly catchy as the tune halts, and then spurts back into the surgey tune as Caesar and Ian switch off on mutual shouts. With Max holding up the chorus rasps, the hyperventilating synco-beats bottle neck into the M8 all with tumbling drum acrobatics and an entourage of heavy chorus shouts. Conjugating into a coagulated force of guitar surges, a 10-second reprieve for the guitar leaps at the opportunity for a one-ended wild-twanged note.

However, it’s after the second verse that the M8 repeats in counter clockwise. Accapella, it switches to Max crooning in tinny nasal-vocals before the melodic mini M8 sweeps up the tune, and magnetically pulls back into the ever-angsty chorus. Holding the rasp vocals on a long-noted croon, the ending delays in a 3-chorded stop to the end. I personally think this is the best song they’ve written.

One long sear incorporates textures with each musical instrument. That urgency is also on the second song, ‘Brain Dead,’ in a jacked-up beat as G-man’s precision thumps navigate the verse with every other word emphasized by MJ top-croons. Led by guitar strums and drum thuds, a hypersensitive solo bass-beat adds a nice variety as the verbal spoken comment, ‘All right you little fucka,’ interjects just in the nick of time before the let’s-go impressive guitar sear and surge into a crescendo of rock n roll riff. In really fast metal guitar chunks, MJ’s growl seems to control the beat, as it slows just enough to head bang on the M8 chorus, ‘woh’s.’ It’s all shoved before the way is paved for a brick-wall stomp.

‘Born To Serve,’ is an emotive twist unleashing convulsive beats palpitating with intense swirls of tornadic fury. As the guitar twiddle-dee and diaphragmed, ‘heys’ derive on one solo bass pluck, the energy ques with hard-hitting drums and guitar strikes. This is all before the first verse, and MJ scratches a croon-tune with shouted response in between. It’s all sandwiched into a compact beat as the vocals change the surge to ½ time, and the chorus melody is more simple and catchy in its theme. Further, because it is in slower cadence, you can hear the lyrical intent and content. I like this!

The croon-out on the key melody takes high stances, as a second round house of shrapnel verse-shouts chunk into the M8 in accapella style. Quicken guitar-chord successions enable MJ to let out a mighty quasi-roar before the stabbing chorus of, ‘Help me, Help you!’ in four-time repeat as one single guitar strum finishes the job.

For starts, the last song, ‘Decapitation Policy,’ is just that-- a decapitation of beat, vocals and content. It’s unpredictablely plunky with the guitar opener emerging without allowing the listener a queue or a clue on what is next. As MJ takes hold of the melody with one great yell, templating the rest of the song with rockin’ guitar riffage.

However, that’s just the beginning. Bass and drums in that accapella style, (with only the lead vocals in the chorus shouts) they planted at the end of the verse. As the guitar instigates the crescendo of drum thuds and chorus invites, the vocal overlap is set in a roundabout. Now with the punctuated drums on the second verse, it is more intense as it crests with guitar and full-fledged ganged chorus. Surprisingly, again it twists and morphs into a form of scratched rap-meter, and is topped by a long guitar strum derailing MJ into a repeat of echo shouts sounding more like real hard core than anything else. This song has great flexibility and versatility as it has added genre elements.

Ending the CD with the changing wind, the pack has made a different tune all lead by tribal drums, echoed lyrics and harmony ‘woh’s,’ bridging the gap while MJ belts out one last echo shout.

The Kirkz exhibit an air of fun-fair and mayhem—successfully transferring their energy and attitude onto their CD. With the attitude of having fun being their main course and motto, I have just been told that their new CD will be released in the first couple of weeks in December as they are in the studio for more intense-filled creations. Can’t wait to hear it!

www.myspace.com/thekirkz

SugarBuzz Magazine