When we first heard Big Time Kill sometime last year, we couldn’t help but think that it sounded like nothing else around Boston at the time. Hard-driving industrial rock with a heavy serving of pop awareness was just not something we were blasting every day on VanyaRadio’s “This Is 617”, but the Boston duo’s blistering debut track “I Want To Be Your Man” beat us over the head in the best way possible.
Then came some special projects, like remixing Band Without Hands and covering Devo, and our anticipation for a full and proper Big Time Kill release grew to the point of sleazy obsession.
Today, we get that release, with a forceful self-titled five-song EP that proves the initial flash was no fluke.
“We did all of the engineering and production ourselves, so from start to finish the album’s sound was in our creative control,” says lead guitarist, vocalist and programmer Adam Schneider. “People that have seen us live know that we try to put on an extremely high energy and fun show, and this album was all about trying to capture those raw emotions. A big part of our sound is the way I create these monstrous and warped guitar sounds by processing my guitar through a computer to get sounds that you can’t normally do with regular guitar pedals, and that’s definitely a driving element showcased on tracks like ‘Hold On’ and ‘Are You Ready For Love?'”
And, of course, there’s the ongoing battle of carving out your own sound. But the EP’s standout tracks like “Hold On” and “It’s Nothing Personal” are going a long way in crystallizing that Big Time Kill sound: aggressive, piercing, and undeniably catchy all at once.
“This album is us trying to hone in on who we are as a band,” Schneider adds, “and trying to find that middle ground between the synth pop of Depeche Mode and the visceral noise of The Jesus Lizard.”
Listen — loudly, we suggest — to Big Time Kill via Bandcamp below.
