There's something vaguely reassuring about the fact that a band like Kinski still exists. Cranking out this sort of heavy indie, the trio's back with a new one. And while Stumbledown Terrace stands on its own, it also works as a sort of time capsule of a genre that never really went away.
Recorded with producer Tim Green (The Nation of Ulysses, etc.), Stumbledown Terrace is a roaring beast of a record. Riffs and rhythms collide as the chaos opens up around us. Opener "Do You Like Long Hair" is all Iron Butterfly hooks put in a cement mixer, while the more subtle "Gang of 3" provides nuance amid the heaviness. Kinski were on Sub Pop at one point and that makes perfect sense. There's a looseness here that suggests peak Mudhoney, and a sonic force that reminds one of Tad, though there's more virtuosity in the grooves of this Kinski record that one might expect given that comparison.
The title cut here has a vibe not entirely unlike the best tracks I've heard from The Jesus Lizard and I suppose if you like that band you'll find much to love here. This is resilient riffage, absolutely devoted to American indie and alt-rock forms from the Eighties and Nineties. I could put Stumbledown Terrace on and ask when it was made and any guess from 1993 to 2025 would be a plausible one. Pleasantly retro, there's something to be said for the work of a group this adept at doing this for so long.
Stumbledown Terrace by Kinski is out on Friday.
[Photo: Karri Peery]