“Is that feedback a scream, a release, or a revelation?” you may ask yourself, as the first 15 seconds of Killer Kin’s newest single, “Sonic Love,” burn their way into your body, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll spirit. As it turns out, it is all four of those things and more. The New Haven-based band released a 7‑inch red vinyl last week — the group’s debut on Pig Baby Records — and both are now also available to stream and sizzle their way into your long, cold winter nights.
“Sonic Love” is the A side and the song “Narrow Mind” is the B side, but “they’re both double A, you know?” said Matt Lea, vocalist for the band who, along with guitarist and partner Chloe Rose, spoke about their latest musical endeavor, what was in 2020, and what shall be moving forward for the five-member band that also includes Brendan Toller on guitar, Dan Soto on bass, and Jason Kyek on drums.
The road to this vinyl release began in 2019 at Cafe Nine only six months after the band played its very first show there, opening for Tav Falco.
Elizabeth Voytershark Photo
Killer Kin
“We played with The Schizophonics at Cafe Nine in November 2019, and the owner of Pig Baby” — known as Boss Hog — “was on tour with them,” said Lea. “I was talking with him and said, ‘I would love for you to put out our record. We ended up putting out the EP Bad, Bad Minds in January [2020] and it blew up a little bit.” The EP got played on small radio stations and a couple of well-known podcasts, including No Dogs in Space. Boss Hog ended up reaching out to the band after COVID kicked in in March and asked them about putting out a record. “He was willing to take a chance on us,” said Lea.
“When COVID hit we were scheduled to play a radio station in Boston,” added Rose. “We had a lot planned. Our last show was at Three Sheets, and that was a good way to end.”
The band took a hiatus just like everyone else. “We got together again when it was safe,” said Rose. “It was a pretty big gap. I don’t think we ended up getting together until May or after.”
“There was a lot going on in the world,” said Lea. “We were going to protests, and there was a lot of worry too, and anxiety.”
“We were writing some songs and keeping in touch. It was a waiting game,” said Rose. “I had some things written but didn’t have a plan. Some riffs I wrote turned into songs.” Though according to Rose this is not atypical for the couple’s writing process.
“I just write stuff, record them on my phone and bring them to rehearsal. It’s a Frankenstein-like process. Matt will tell me lyrics, or I will play a riff for him, and then we frame it together, bring it to practice and they all add their parts.”
Preorders for this vinyl release — a seven-inch red vinyl single limited to 300 copies — began on Jan. 6 and copies began shipping out this past week. Mastered by Dave Gardner for Pig Baby, the songs had their start in the hands of Sam Carlson of Sans Serif Recording, who mixed and recorded them.
“He’s the best,” said Rose about Carlson. “I’m very picky about how I wanted it to be mixed, and he made it sound exactly how I wanted it to sound.”
“Sam is so patient,” said Lea. “He has an ear for everything. He listens to a lot of music and knows what he’s doing and what he likes.”
“Yes,” agreed Rose. “He also has good taste. He puts his own touch on it.”
“He keeps his ear to the ground,” added Lea. “He loves everything from avant-garde jazz to underground garage rock. He is one of the reasons we put out the EP last year.”
“He’s a New Haven legend,” added Rose.
Carlson also helped Rose with the layout of the single cover, a photo of the couple taken by Antonio Esposito. “It came out really good,” said Rose. “It exhibits who we really are.”
Rose and Lea are authentically themselves, and their words weave together almost seamlessly and with much reverence whether they are talking each other or their music.
Taylor Richards Photo
Lea and Rose
“I heard her playing a Misfits songs on the guitar,” said Lea about Rose. “She picks things up so fast. She’s good at everything. She just picks up the guitar again, sends me stuff, and I listen and say, ‘Oh my God.’ She’ll just be in the bedroom writing songs. It will be just Chloe with a riff, and I’ll say, ‘that sounds fucking rad.’”
For this reason, according to Lea, Bad, Bad Minds “wrote itself.”
“I never write super complicated stuff,” said Rose. “Less is more with us. I like to keep it simple. That’s all you really need.”
The two of them work together to create the foundation of the Killer Kin sound.
“We bounce off each other,” said Lea. “Ideas just come to me, taglines, they just burn right into my head, and then I get the stuff written down.”
“Or he says something random and I write it down in my notes,” added Rose.
“I just sew things together. I’m a credit short of a creative writing minor,” Lea added with a laugh.
“You don’t need to take lessons to do anything,” said Rose. “I learned guitar being in Killer Kin. I show you what you think you can’t do, and I do it.”
“Anxiety works for us,” added Lea. “Ideas get in your head. You run through it, channel it in some way or it explodes out of you. I’m wild naturally. There’s a lot on my mind, but it happens creatively. I play faster and hammer it out harder.”
The band has become known for its raw and fiery floor-shaking live shows, and although its members miss playing out, they also are making the best of the situation in order to get their music and mindset to the masses by recording promo videos, live sets, and a variety of photos and other visuals for social media.
“I like taking pictures,” said Rose. “We are a live band. There’s a lot of visual aspects to it.”
Owen Bigler
KIller Kin performing at cafe nine
“We definitely miss playing live. Who doesn’t?” added Lea. “During a photo shoot we do whatever we can do, spin some records and dance.”
“It can be hard to stay inspired to write new stuff with every day the same,” said Rose. “It’s hard staying motivated.” Though Lea says Rose is the one that often keeps him motivated and inspired. Her music “brings you out of that burnt-out reality,” said Lea.
In the end, Rose and Lea simply want people to enjoy the music, to get the feel of Killer Kin through the sound and the visuals even if the band can’t play a show yet. To that end they also have plans to work on a new album in the year ahead. But for now, there are these two songs by this band that can only be who they are.
“Being genuine, personality and presence over technical stuff — if you have presence, that’s the thing,” said Rose.
“It’s the way people perform things,” added Lea. “That’s the crazy thing about rock ‘n’ roll.”
The limited edition red vinyl of “Sonic Love” can be ordered via Pig Baby Records, and the songs can be streamed on all services.
