ROCK KILLS KID

It's often considered the height of laziness for music reviewers (or MP3 bloggers) to compare one band's sound to that of another's. I'm guilty of this on prettty much a daily basis -- in part, because I'm lazy. But also because I haven't a single shred of know-how when it comes to the technical nuts and bolts (and notes and chords) of music-making, and am therefore unable to describe an artist's work from that angle.

That said, I must admit that I don't mind the "this-band-sounds-like-ARTIST-A-crossed with-ARTIST-B" thing at all. If somebody tells me that a group sounds like RADIOHEAD, I'll probably want to give that group a listen -- even if, as it sometimes turns out, that group doesn't end up sounding like RADIOHEAD to me in the least. As much as I appreciate and envy the poetic prose of, say, SAID THE GRAMOPHONE, I often don't have a clue as to what a song or band he's writing about will sound like after reading that poetic prose. Maybe that's part of the charm; the listening experience becomes an exercise not just in discovery but in faith. But time's a wasting; I've got songs of my own to post; I've got my own (highly unpoetic) prose to cobble together and dump upon the populace. Tick-tock, tick-tock.

So... when I tell you that the L.A.-based band ROCK KILLS KID has been compared (time and time again) to THE CURE, U2, THE KILLERS, and THE BRAVERY... well... you're just going to have to cut me some slack. Led by the seemingly borderline-agoraphobic JEFF TUCKER, ROCK KILLS KID released their first full-length, ARE YOU NERVOUS?, back in May. It's a solid effort. And while these guys are certainly beholden to the artists listed above, they manage to cover a range of styles and moods within the album's ten songs. I, for one, will be very interested to hear what they manage to come up with next time around (and to see if they can put those KILLERS and BRAVERY comparisons behind them.)

ROCK KILLS KID on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Paralyzed"

[MP3] "Midnight"