Massachusetts’ Krill have long wrestled with insecurity. “Set the dogs on me, I deserve what’s coming,” singer Jonah Furman glumly insisted on 2012’s ‘Lucky Leaves’, their recently re-released second album, while their last release, 2014’s ‘Steve Hears Pile In Malden and Bursts Into Tears’, was a loose concept EP about feeling inferior to fellow Boston label mates Pile, featuring an opening track that detailed in brutal, almost comic awkwardness an email exchange with their singer Rick Maguire: “I emailed Rick, said ‘do you want to play with us some time?’ He emailed me back, said ‘man our summer’s looking pretty busy…'” For as long as Krill have been a band, its stalked the backdrop of their weird, wiry, inventive grunge.
Their new album ‘A Distant Fist Unclenching’, out next Monday (February 16) on Steak Club and Exploding In Sound, is a different story however. Leaving behind the “sad shit”, as Furman put it to Rolling Stone a few weeks ago, from the simmering stomp of recent single ‘Torturer’ to the Built To Spill slow emotional grind of album closer ‘It Ends’, this third full-length is the trio at their most strident and confident yet. It’s not a complete overhaul – tracks like ‘Foot’ and ‘Tiger’ still pack the nervous energy and sardonic oddball-isms of old – but there’s a definite sense here that Krill are done feeling inferior to anyone. Check it out below, and let us know what you reckon in the comments.
Catch Krill on tour in Europe on the following dates:
Feb 23 – Manchester, Gullivers
Feb 24 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
Feb 25 – London, Old Blue Last
Feb 27 – Glasgow, Broadcast
Feb 28 – Bristol, Start The Bus
March 1 – Brighton, Green Door Store
March 3 – Paris, Espace B
March 4 – Antwerp, Trix Bar
March 5 – Haarlem, Patronaat
March 6 – Zeewolde, Where The Wild Things Are
March 7 – Berlin, Bang Bang Club
Photo: Press/Joe Difazio