Engine

Released by Skin Graft

Track List:
1. Franken-Bitch
2. Dancing Sumo Wrestlers
3. Desert Rose
4. Hi Ka Ri
5. TWA Corbies
6. Skeleton King
7. Get Out of Here
8. Disembody
9. Slice of Life



Players:
KK Null – guitar, vocals
Darin Gray – bass
Thymme Jones - drums
Jim O’Rourke – guitar

Here are two words guaranteed to excite a certain demographic: Japanese Noise. The boys from Brise-Glace teamed up with KK Null to record an album (engineered by, you guessed it, Steve Albini) and named themselves Yona-Kit. Their self-titled LP is nowhere near as noisy as KK Null’s band, Zevi Geva, and it is also not nearly as artsy as Brise-Glace. Yona-Kit is a hybrid of both of those bands and this makes them more accessible than either of their parts.

‘Franken-Bitch’ is the opener and a definite crowd-pleaser. It begins with something that sounds like a cat fight or dolphin sounds – that is Yasuko Onuki of Melt Banana who offers guest vocals on this song only. A bouncy Albini-influenced guitar riff starts off the song which quickly lets the other instruments crash in to form a loose, noisy rhythm. But the fun doesn’t really start until Null’s vocals kick in. The man has a natural deep, guttural growl that must be the envy of metal vocalists worldwide. He vomits lyrics in a way that manages to be highly pleasing to the ear. Null is easy to picture as a vicious samurai in a Kurosawa film. Onuki helps out with the high pitched sounds she makes but she doesn’t go too crazy, just makes a beautiful noisy duet with Null.


‘Dancing Sumo Wrestlers’ starts with more guitar work that reminds me of something I have heard on Shellac albums. I really don’t intend to keep mentioning Albini but it’s hard not to in this case. No offense to the guitarists but it really, really sounds like Steve Albini playing guitar here. Ghostly vocals hover in the air for atmosphere and texture while the rhythm stays steady and pronounced throughout. Most of this album rocks at about the same level that Shellac does. This is one of several songs on it with a steady groove that takes time to stretch out, slow down, or drag on at will.

‘Desert Rose’ brings some changes. Null starts muttering (in Japanese?) over a jazzy beat and melody that sounds like something Miles Davis might have done in the early-70s. Null quiets down and the guitar solos on a pretty melody for at least several seconds. This song is good but it reminds you of why they call this music experimental; because it sometimes sounds like just some shit that the band tried out for fun. In this case the experiment works out well, though.

‘Hi Ka Ra’ starts out with Null either laughing or crying for a split second and then lets loose with classic “experimental indie rock” from this period. That is, this is for fans of Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 and such. It still has a pretty deep groove in parts and more of that uniquely distorted Albini sound on the guitars. Most notable though is Null’s vocals which go all over the place or rather, sings a bunch of scales.

‘TWA Corbies’ features Null singing in a way that reminds me of some kind of ancient Japanese theater. He punctuates that with some spoken vocals while the band plugs away at a repetitive yet lively backdrop. Another breakdown straight out of At Action Park interrupts at one point.

‘Skeleton King’ is rocking good fun. If you are at all interested in anything I have said about this album then I think you will find this song extremely enjoyable and it may make you want to get up and dance. Brise-Glace finally found a way to make their artsy, jazzy shtick get your ass out of its seat.

‘Get Out of Here’ evokes a claustrophobic but still euphoric atmosphere like Times Square on New Year’s Eve or, I guess, downtown Tokyo on Oshogatsu. Null’s vocals prove that he’s a mad genius as he frantically bellows Let’s Get Outta Here/What the Hell as the chorus.

The last actual song is ‘Disembody’ which is a mellow jazzy number driven forward by the rhythm section and accompanied by various other sounds. This sounds like it is better suited to a Brise-Glace album. It doesn’t exactly go anywhere but it also doesn’t interrupt the flow and it’s another generally successful experiment.

‘Slice of Life’ closes the album very slowly; it’s over 23 minutes long. Not only that but it doesn’t really change throughout the whole thing; and not only that but it’s a really good song. If you are or ever were in a band that wanted to jam extensively but hated the Grateful Dead, your music probably sounds like a poor version of this song (although I’m sure you’re very talented – keep at it, folks). The rhythm stays steady and soulful in a punk rock kind of way while the guitars do their experimental rock thing. The band always stays tight with just enough variation to keep you interested or at least hypnotized.

Yona-Kit is for rock fans who don’t expect their music to do the work for them and for experimental noise fans who don’t mind a melody and for post-rock fans who don’t mind noisy punk.

9.1/10