Originally published in Verbicide issue #4

KYI’s hardcore-punk sound (emphasis on “hardcore”) is a throwback to bands like early Sick Of It All and Government Issue. They play at an unrelenting pace, pounding out 16 tracks, each two-and-a-half minutes or less in length, before fading out track 17 (“Goodbye My Love, Hello My Friend”) with quiet, acoustic guitar. Lyrically, a lot of the tracks are pretty standard for hardcore (i.e. defying conformity and cool scenesters and so on), but the title track, “Funeral For a Feeling,” really hits hard to anyone who ever has lost a friend: “Death of a feeling, loss of a friend, looks like we’ll never meet again.” This feeling has never been relayed in such an accurately pissed-off manner. KYI has been around for about seven years now, and they’ve earned the respect as one of hardcore’s hardest working bands. With this newest release, they show no signs of slowing down.

(Side One Dummy Records, 6201 Sunset Blvd., Suite 211, Hollywood, CA 90028)