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May 07, 2013 Kinski By Dan Lucas

In the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s the German actor Klaus Kinski earned a reputation as the wild child of European cinema. His reputed sex addiction and the alleged indiscretions that came with it, tales of rampant egomania, and bizarre on-set behaviour earned him notoriety as the most idiosyncratic cinematic enigma of his time. Klaus wasn’t just abstruse; he was seen as dangerous and exciting.

Kinski, the American band who take their name from Werner Herzog’s greatest muse, spend the vast majority of new album Cosy Moments working to be everything that Klaus wasn’t. They’re a Seattle band, but one that lives in a version of the city where it is still 1992. There used to be a trend on illegal file-sharing programs such as Kazaa for uploaders falsely labelling obscure bands’ music as a rarity by someone more recognizable: if Cosy Moments was marketed as a lost Mudhoney record no one would bat an eyelid.

Only a fool would refer to the Seattle scene of two decades ago as uninspired, but the majority of tracks on here are exactly that: plodding, derivative, and anachronistic. The charmingly-titled “Skim Milf” and unwittingly apt “Riff DAD” epitomize the band’s predilection for chopping out any of the exploratory sounds of their earlier work in lieu of mercifully short, chugging dad rock riffs. It’s only on the album’s longer tracks such as “Throw It Up” that they show any ambition, but these are rare forays into the Krautrock sound that inspired them. (www.kinski.net)

Author rating: 5/10