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Friday, October 7, 2011

Album Review: Kidcrash - Naps

Listening to Kidcrash evolve and progress over the course of five years has been an absolute joy. From their humble beginnings to their sadly looming hiatus, being a part of the profound and beautiful ride that is Kidcrash has been a wonderful thing. Reflecting upon their career, the 2007 release Jokes immediately comes to mind, as it changed not only the way I thought about emo, but music in general. It melded everything the genre had been up until that point, whilst also being shockingly unique and fresh. Truly, it was one of last decades defining releases. Now four years later, Kidcrash has quietly dropped an EP, feeding those starved individuals who can only stand bewildered at the uncertain future of the band they love.

Naps, the newest and perhaps final release of Kidcrash, is a great as one would expect. This four song EP hits with the same energy and fervor as did their previous two records, but in a more condensed format. It's far too short, which speaks volumes of its quality because after listening to it you're going to want more. What is here, however, is incredibly satisfying, and ensures that Naps will be in your playlist for months to come.

The EP is classic Kidcrash, through and through. The improved production featured on Snacks is retained, making for the band's most aurally pleasing record to date. The bass is more audible than ever, and the vocals feel a lot cleaner this time around. But the compositions themselves are what really shine. These songs are some of the finest the band has ever produced. They're hard hitting, chaotic, and all together incredibly well written. The twinkly, looping instrumentals are once again present, as well as the absolutely stunning percussion. Kidcrash isn't one of those bands that throws together their music, makes it as intense as possible, and hopes it comes out alright. Instead, they write surprisingly complex lines of music that don't seem to make sense upon first listen. In digging deeper you discover that the intermingling of guitar lines has been meticulously planned out, and aren't just mere accident. It's moments like this that make Naps so damn incredible. It's fast, frenetic, and all over the place, but Kidcrash hasn't forgotten to make this collection of songs complex and immersible.

In this final paragraph, I could wrap everything up into a nice, neat batch of sentences that tells you why I loved this EP so much. Instead, I'll simply implore you to check out not only this record, but the band's entire discography. It's one of the finest collections of 21st century emo that you're likely to hear. Period.

Buy/Stream the record here
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1. Hibernationstate
2. Sleep Shock
3. Misogamist
4. Unknowing The End

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