Kill the Man Who Questions/Del Cielo "split" 7"
[Ed Walters]
Kill the Man Who Questions broke up before this was released, but herein they offer up three quick tracks of energetic hardcore/punk with crazed vocal screams and a mix of slightly heavier old school hardcore influences with a jagged sort of quirky Black Flag sound. Their side of the split blows by in a flash and is over all too quickly, because the songs are definitely very cool and they've got a solid sound to boot. The lyrics are mainly personal, with one song attacking police violence (though not in a typically mundane fashion). "So what's it mean if you say you're a punk rocker: An assisted sense of self, scowling just like Johnny Rotten? How can the whole move ahead with such a hole in your head?" Del Cielo is an all-female trio that plays great melodic emo/indie rock (I guess? I know people hate those tags but fuck it, that's what it sounds like and I like it.) with a generally calm delivery that uses a lot of clean guitars and amazing vocal harmonies. The stuff is pretty damn catchy, but not in a poppy or upbeat way, because the music is pretty somber in most cases. "Disconnected" is a bit faster and more energetic with some killer basslines and a little distortion on the guitars, as well as some cool group vocals at the very end, but the recording is a little bit thinner than on "Missing You Always". The production's not bad overall, but I think they need a cleaner sound to really do them justice. It's not a dirty or raw sound, but sometimes there's light distortion over the vocals or instruments because the input levels might have been too loud, and the mix isn't consistent. With a smooth, strong delivery they would sound incredible. The lyrics are fairly intensely personal and deal with relationships and such topics. The record comes in a well presented sleeve printed on matte paper with some high contrast background textures underneath images of a map of the east coast highlighting the residences of the two bands. Everything looks nice and clean, and the bright orange colors are great. Another solid split from the Ed Walters camp. Not bad at all. (7/10)
Running time - 9:00 (approximately), Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Remain Engaged, Missing You Always]
Ed Walters Records - http://www.edwaltersrecords.org

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