Kilslug: A Curse and Two Singles 12″

Description

This record has been in the works for a while and it is finally finished. This record includes the songs from the difficult to find A Curse cassette and the two 7s the band released. Approximately 300 pressed.

Our take: This 12 collects three releases by the 80s Boston band Kilslug: their 1982 cassette A Curse and their first two self-released singles, 1982s Warlocks, Witches, Demons and 1983s Necktie Party. These are hard to find records, so unless youre some kind of crazy super-fan, this material will be new to you. If you havent heard Kilslug, Flipper and No Trend are good points of comparison, and I imagine Flipper in particular must have been a big inspiration for Kilslug. Its fitting that this record runs backward, from inside to outside, because Kilslug sounds like theyre turning punk inside out.Kilslugs music is slow, dirge-y, dark, and dissonant, but where Flipper in particular often beats you into submission by hammering on the same repetitive groove, Kilslugs songwriting style is more compact. The grim atmosphere is overwhelming, but no idea overstays its welcome. I love the complex, dissonant chords here, which give these songs a weight and richness of texture any doom metal band would envy. However, rather than songs about weed-smoking aliens, Kilslugs lyrics are set in the murkier world of everyday violence, reminding me of their fellow underworld chroniclers Big Black. A real gem from the dirty underbelly of 80s punk.