Long Fin Killie

Valentino (American)
by Lex Marburger

Entering with a burst of sound, Long Fin Killie follow up their previous work with assertiveness and more focus. Unlike Houdini, which was an amalgamation of almost five years of songs, their new album, Valentino, is tight, concentrated, a whole in and of itself. The relationship to their previous work is obvious, and the two albums should be listened to together. On Valentino, there’s immediacy from the fierce opening chords of “Godiva” and “Hands and Lips” to the gentle swelling of “Valentino” and “A Thousand Wounded Astronauts.” As is always true with Long Fin Killie, they hide subtlety inside their guitar attacks, and make their softer numbers bite with brutality and sarcasm. On the title track, the guitars and bass drift gently along, almost droning, while in a near-whisper you hear “He grabbed me by the hair and threw me down, screaming ‘I ought to fucking lynch you!’ He broke most of my fingers, standing on my hands.” And in “Cupid,” they open up with a quiet violin riff that explodes into the band driving away at the beat, guitars drowning out everything, but the violin continues on, adding a subtle counterpoint. “Matador” has a fluid bassline and solid groove with an underlining rhythmic stutter in the drums. And in all of this easy beauty, Luke sings “Matador thrown gored wide open/A belly burst, flows full of wine… A remedy to warm your kidneys/Daylight spilling either side.” To call Long Fin Killie original would be an understatement. They use contrast to the fullest extent. And what is originality but the juxtaposition of two disparate elements? If you have a chance, go see them live. It’s worth the effort of enduring Lollapalooza just to see this one band.