Science Fiction Movie from The Kill Screens is available now.
Remember those days standing around in a video game arcade? If you don’t, remember the original Tron film? Good enough. Because that’s where you are instantly transported when you listen to this fascinating freshman effort from indie band, The Kill Screens.
Science Fiction Movie is hard to pin down in terms of sound. On one hand there are the obvious video game nods, with harsh 8-bit audio sound effects and 80’s synth organs. But then thrown in the mix are soothing vocals that are completely magical, otherworldly and even timeless.
The band itself is an interesting duo as well. John Jacobsen is a well-known video game podcaster with Video Game Outsiders. In a former life he was also part of the indie rock scene in Chicago, performing with Smashing-Pumpkin-influenced bands like Radio Slave. Matthew McCarthy has created several Internet sensations, most notably the Geometry Wars Song, which achieved huge viral success a few years back for it’s humorous take on a popular video game. And together, the pair are iPhone developers, primarily known for creating children’s games as Tomato Interactive.
So when I say this band has “geek cred,” this is not an overstatement — and the music completely reflects this. Song after song captures the heart with a blend of 80’s pop, mixed with more modern electronica experimentation.
The title track kicks off the collection with a powerful statement that typifies the power and raw melodramatic emotion so reminiscent of Tears For Fears and bands that traded on pining sentiment and high musical moments. Science Fiction Movie is a solid effort that captures the heart of what The Kill Screens are trying to achieve with this record, and does a great job of setting the tone of all that comes after it.
Then comes Don’t Feel. Wow! Clearly this is the best song on the album. So much drama and intensity. My very first listen to this song erased all my skepticism of this effort. It left me wanting more and that’s always a good sign. I especially appreciated the dynamic elements like intimate, personal moment in the track where they have a conversation about an experimental riff. Usually these devices are annoying, but in this case I felt part of the creation process and fell in love with the song even more.
The next few songs are completely retro. Tracks like Run, Run, Run, Flying Free, Runaway and Scheme, feel just a bit too derivative of 80s pop for my personal tastes. Flying Free in particular made me think about The Breakfast Club and all those teen movies where you ended up with five minute music videos thrown in to fill holes in the script. It’s completely in line with the tone of the album though and, with the exception of Runaway (which I did not like at all), is very listenable — if just a bit too much on the bubble-gum side of pop.
Then comes Breathe, which returns the album back to the high drama that was promised in the opening tracks. Breathe is amazing, exploring mystical tones with contemplative lyrics. This is the track you want to lift your arms to and feel the music wrap your body.
From here on out the album winds down beautifully. Space Walk is a bit campy, but has a captivating chorus of “We are all just drifting / like satellites that miss each other by accident.” I could listen to that refrain for hours. Sunshine is a song first released as part of one of their iPhone games, featuring a beautiful duet with a female vocalist and is one of my favorite all-time tracks from their earlier efforts. Failure, Dystopia and Dark Matter also connect with you in interesting ways.
But it’s the last two tracks that really shine.
I Think Of Her has just enough of the dynamic and interesting moments I love, to make it a must-listen. I especially like the way it blends a harsh musical treatment with softer love song lyrics. It creates a poignant feeling of bitterness that I found satisfying. And Little Things is a perfect wrap for a great album of music.
While the effort can be a little uneven and sometimes a bit unpolished, this is one of those recordings that will leave you amazed at the power available to indie recording artists these days. Knowing that this entire collection was recorded in John’s basement makes you realize exactly how far the technology can take a band in the hands of the right talent. These two guys are certainly the right talent.
I definitely recommend you pick up the entire collection and experience this effort for yourself. Science Fiction Movie is available on iTunes and will soon be available on Amazon.
Robert Knorpp is host of The BeanCast Marketing Podcast at thebeancast.com and is President of The Cool Beans Group, a marketing strategy consultancy based in New York City. He likes laughing even more than breathing. You can follow the madness on Twitter at twitter.com/BobKnorpp.
