Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
It is hard to articulate a genre of music. If someone asked me to define country music, I would have a hard time putting that into words. I would say it needs to have some twang, honesty, and possibly fiddle and pedal steel. Putting a written definition to something sonic is difficult. It is difficult to do that for any art, period. Instead of trying to give a wordy definition of what country music is, I offer you this: Killbuck is country music. It has it all. It’s got energy, looseness, impeccable songwriting, great vocals, and a real DIY feel to it. Absolutely pristine.
Killbuck is a tight unit, but no one would complain too much if they hit a wrong note. This isn’t about perfection, it’s about self expression and producing something magical. Kilbuck has succeeded. It definitely has that Crazy Horse and early 70s Stones feel to it. If you notice a pattern in my writing, you are observant. That is my comfort zone. I seem to gravitate towards music that fits into that prototype. Maybe I could pen my own genre, it fits into the exileyoung genre. Well that name may need some work, but you get the idea. Here is their explanation of Killbuck in their bio:
“In the summer of 2014, Josh Compton and the Kurtz Brothers packed a cassette recorder and drove south to a cabin in Killbuck, Ohio. The sessions that followed featured raspy vocals, warbly guitars and cavernous drums on future album cuts “In the Rain” and “Good as Gone”. The songs resonate with bleak, cloud-obstructed light; peeking through car windows above blurred nameless highways headed to somewhere, anywhere but here.”
They say this was produced by Matt Kurtz with a one dollar stereo Panasonic cassette recorder. Proof positive that you don’t need a lot of money to make a great record. You need talent, creativity, and passion. Killbuck has it all. The more I listen, I hear some Uncle Tupelo as well. Not necessarily the tempo, just the rawness and the deconstructive quality to the songs. And the writing, let’s not forget the writing because it is exceptional. I am wearing my heart on my sleeve with Killbuck, you need to buy this!