Accustomed to Your Face marks a significant anniversary for the Seattle four-piece, and one they honor with a gutsy collection. Twenty years in and
Kinski remain as reliably noisy as ever -- the one constant in a career of variance. Unlike some of their more sprawling efforts, their latest is as taut and brisk a record as they've ever created, and largely that determined gait lends the album a welcome vivacity. Overall, the record flits between the biting rock of "There Goes the Hot Stamper" and "Riff MOM" to more contemplative, if no less wily, meandering instrumentals like "Kinski 101," whose persistent and wistful guitar melody underpins its driving momentum. Conversely, the wryly titled "Guest Girl Vocalist" -- which actually features the very permanent
Lucy Atkinson on the mike in a first for the band -- is a concise slice of bullish punk rock.
Atkinson plays it cool on "A Nap Is a Slice of the World" with a bassline that anchors
Chris Martin and Matthew Reid Schwartz's vigorous shredding. Equally, the familiar overdrive on the guitar parts of "Fun Couple" makes the riffs sound like they've been covered in dirty engine oil and evokes the distinct feeling that the band could achieve anything by way of its unrelenting momentum. One of the highlights of the record is the slightly more pensive "This Is the Weekend We Take the House Apart," where
Martin tellingly intones "You wanna all out, out on a high/They wanna go back to that time when they were loved." Despite the nostalgic tenor, there's little to suggest that
Kinski will upset their longtime fans with a collection that gathers together much of what they are loved for.
Accustomed to Your Face doesn't really offer anything new and is unlikely to dazzle, but it does bubble with the confident, peppy swagger of a band whose members are truly comfortable with who they are. ~ Bekki Bemrose