Grungy boys Kingskin got hold of the legendary Steve Albini—previous credits including Nirvana and Pixies—for production duties on this, their second LP, and it’s not hard to see the stamp of that ‘90s scene all over this baby. Dirty riffs permeate throughout, with Trevor Lynes’ bass growling away like a guard dog who has just spotted a man carrying a SWAG bag entering his yard. ‘Stoner Girl’ offers a funky groove worthy of the Chilli Peppers, while ‘Sister’ is a ferocious and unabashed stomp through a garden of sludgy riffing and caustic feedback. Kingskin are at their best when they leave the somewhat dull messing around with such things as choruses and verses in favour of blasting out waves of unadulterated funk. “I’ve started, so I’ll finish,” croons vocalist Chris Lamb in ‘Side By Side Stereo’, and you’ll be wishing he’d just let the guitars steal the show entirely. The band’s tag-team of grunge and funk sounds does hold a certain cool, like Nirvana or Soundgarden through a glass (bong) darkly, but the album’s undoing is simply that its songs are not quite interesting enough, on the whole, to demand repeat listenings.
