Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: KXM
Label: Rat Pak Records
Released: 2017
Runtime: 67:13
Rating: 4.5/5
Who’d have thought that KXM, the hell-raising super rock trio fronted by Ray Luzier (Korn, ex-Steel Panther), dUg Pinnick (King’s X) and George Lynch (Lynch Mob, ex-Dokken), would stick around for another studio album after their excellent self-titled debut »KXM« in 2014? With all the commitments clogging up these three musicians’ schedules, you really couldn’t have seen it coming. The three of them got together at a birthday party for Luzier’s son in 2013, and after some modest opening jams they clearly felt the chemistry between them, which gave us a cracking debut. It would have been plain dumb to cut short a magic that works, so KXM keep striking while the iron’s hot. For as long as it stays hot, of course.
All of which makes it an even bigger surprise that »Scatterbrain« tops its predecessor »KXM« across the board. To be more precise, »Scatterbrain« is a decisive step up from the debut in every way. Far be it from me to say that anything essential was missing from that hugely satisfying, high-quality first record, but »Scatterbrain« simply overshadows it with so much more adventurous variety and clever experimental »tricks« and detours from the trio. So much cross-genre fusion, so many wildly fragmented rhythmic escapades, so much progressive »showing off« that all that’s left for »KXM« is the label of a cautious but exemplary opening chapter in the KXM story.
There’s no need to go on at length about the serious mileage and reputation behind these three. No wonder they can find their way around any genre with total authority. »Scatterbrain« is a stunning album. If it doesn’t have you bugging your eyes out in surprise a few times, with no clue what the hell is going on, thanks to all the musical curveballs of the trio’s adventurous »cybernetics«, then you haven’t really started listening yet. Even the title track, which is also the opener, serves up a furious progressive experience loaded with the »groove« of dUg Pinnick’s dynamic bass lines, the fat, down-tuned phrasing of George Lynch’s raging guitar sorcery, and of course Ray Luzier’s incredible tangle of multicolored cross-rhythm gymnastics on the toms and double bass drum pedals. Avant-garde? There’s a pinch of that in there too. At the same time, there’s a feeling of spontaneity at every turn and plenty of »unexpected« moments. For all the exceptional technical wizardry the trio shows off at every step of this album, what really stuns is the tight focus of the jam, which pulls the best out of the three of them, as their inner selves dictate a desire for the total freedom of unbridled musical self-expression.
How do you pin down the style? Almost impossible. Well, hard, anyway. »Scatterbrain« will go down best with everyone who knows King’s X, though not necessarily with those who are into Lynch Mob or Dokken. It will surely also appeal to that half of Korn fans who dig the experimental side of the band. So? Art? Absolutely. Progressive? Definitely. Then there are the open flirtations with alternative metal, an obvious funk-metal fusion, and elements of »transcendental« trance that, through a fat and »absent« groove, also evoke the days of the »grunge« sound. On top of that, the legendary George Lynch brings moments that pull it all toward classic hard rock (though that’s pushed under the surface by Pinnick’s vocal »derailment«, which is authoritative and dominates the whole album). The band also dives into some of the wildest moments of rhythmic experimentation, like in the song Calypso, which is one of the album’s wackiest points when it comes to playing with sound. Luzier doesn’t hold back on variety in his drumming, and the song also gets an (under)rhythm that evokes »calypso«, but with the nutty effect of »the rumble of overturned pots«. That gives the song a feeling of undefined exploration, and with its sheer weirdness that moment of the album stuns and shocks the listener in a heartbeat.
The album has a constant streak of experimenting with all kinds of different sounds at every step, the stylistic fusion is outstanding, and the variety and the ideas are even more so. All the fragmentation the trio develops within the »loose« arrangements is held together in a solid form by the incredible dUg Pinnick, who does with his vocals pretty much everything you could ask of a top-notch, wonderfully derailed vocalist. The man turns a hefty 67 this year, yet he sings like a »supersonic jet«. No wonder he’s able to fill in for Corey Glover if needed, as he did in 2006 when Living Colour were sidelined from their European tour.
At the same time, the new album feels even tighter, more compact, more clearly defined and more focused than the debut. On »Scatterbrain« the trio has nailed down its signature sound and style. Let’s actually hope they stay there. The album is a wet dream for every nitpicky prog rock and »fusion« enthusiast and for every eternally grumbling music gourmet who, in their perfectionism, demands only the best for their ears. »Scatterbrain« has it all. It kills. As such, it’s one of the most interesting rock’n’roll albums of the year. It couldn’t care less about trends, and in its weirdness it completely shakes you up and shocks.
Expect the unexpected!
KXM – Scatterbrain (official video):
Lineup
dUg Pinnick – vocals, bass
George Lynch – guitar
Ray Luzier – drums
Production
KXM
Tracklist
01. Scatterbrain
02. Breakout
03. Big Sky Country
04. Calypso
05. Not a Single Word
06. Obsession
07. Noises in the Sky
08. Panic Attack
09. It’s Never Enough
10. True Deceivers
11. Stand
12. Together
13. Angel
