Album Review: Kids Insane “Who’s The Enemy”
review by Ricky Frankel
Band: Kids Insane
Release: Who’s The Enemy 7-inch
Label: Taklim Holim
Score: 7/10
There is no doubt that the members of Useless ID are very talented punk rock musicians. The band has been cranking out records since 1994 so they have a lot of experience under their belts. Not to mention, their last full-length State Is Burning was one of the criminally underrated albums of 2016. When the members aren’t writing and recording their next material for the next Useless ID release, they are working on other projects. Several of them have released solo records, produced other fellow Israeli punk band Not On Tour’s records, and are members of other bands like Kids Insane and Tabarnak. This time though, we are going to focus on one Kid’s Insane’s new EP, Who’s The Enemy.
This 7-inch is the first batch of new tunes from Kids Insane since their sophomore album Cluster was released in 2017. While it has a total of six tracks, the entire EP barely reaches the six-minute mark. However, the band manages to pack in a lot in that very short amount of time. The first track, “Won’t Stop Now” while only clocking in at 49 seconds is stuffed with hard-hitting drums, swift guitar changes, and powerful vocals that teeter on the cusp of yelling and singing. The title track shows off the more pure melodic side of Kids Insane’s style. The vocals are less aggressive, but they are countered by a very high-treble bass guitar. Towards the later half of the song, the band seamlessly transitions into a more hardcore punk sound with choppy guitars and harsher lead vocals. You get similar sounds on the final track, “Death To Love,” but what makes it a stand out track are two aspects. One being that Usless ID lead singer Yotam Ben Horin is featured as a guest vocalist. The other being that there is a really great melodic outro that not only finishes the song up quite well, but acts as a sort of finale for the EP as a whole, too.
While this is definitely not Kids Insane’s first release, for many people this might be their first time hearing about the band especially if they are more focused on North American and European punk scenes. That being said, for those people the Who’s The Enemy 7-inch is a good place to start with Kids Insane’s discography. When it comes to long-time fans of the band, chances are they will not be disappointed with this release at all.
***
Ricky Frankel is the author of the book I’m Outta Here!: A Collection Of Interviews & Anecdotes From The Punk Scene (2014-2018), which you can find on Storenvy and Amazon.
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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