Modern Kin plays Rontoms on the 26th and promises quite the show. Having trimmed from a four to a three-piece in 2012, the group took time to re-orient sonic priorities and spit out a raucous self-titled debut in late 2013 off their own label, Amigo/Amiga. Drummer Jeremiah Hayden claims this was “a record of growth” in which they “wanted to introduce more rhythm and movement in the drums and the bass.” Mission accomplished. Each song is a call to arms, a lesson in combustion, a manifesto to the mundane. In songs like “Unannounced”, singer Drew Grow shout-sings with Win Butler-like vibrato while in “Wicked Crush”, the vocals seep and seethe paired with sinister (yet still catchy) instrumentals. In “Abandon”, Grow wails, “Our desperation isn’t beautiful, but here it is, so let’s say it is.” An apt summary for Modern Kin’s frenzied rock that hits like welcomed pummels to the eardrums. – Ted Jamison
