The Kinison – Mortgage Is Bank
(Fearless)

It’s too bad first impressions aren’t everything. As the first five seconds of The Kinison’s new release hit my ears I smiled. The soft promising melody had me hooked. Of course, then there’s the unfortunate part of the rest of the album. Something about the whining Megadeth-like vocals kicking in, had me ducking for cover. And the repetitive, simple guitar riffs didn’t help. The Kinison just left me feeling empty and confused. They lack the overlayed roaming guitars, and the well-timed soft to heavy transitions that their swedishgaragemetalscreamocore counterparts utilize to give their songs substance.

Style is another problem. It seems to me, they are either trying to throw in a bit of every current trendy sound, or are still searching for an identity of their own. I hope it’s the latter. Being only a five song release, I will reserve judgement. A few catchy spots here and there, such as the oi influenced ending of “hey hey hey” and the classic hardcore break down in “a new way to dance” did keep me from losing complete interest. By far the best song by The Kinison on this release is the last one, leaving me to believe that their future could be promising, should they ever find themselves. — Kube