The last time we reviewed The Kimberly Steaks we gave them a less than flattering review. Mike summed it up well when he said, and I quote, “this demo sounds like it was recorded in a rotten old shed with the guitar plugged straight into a cheap Argos amp running through an even cheaper Argos multi-effects pedal.” You’d have thought that the second demo may have taken some of Mike’s criticisms on board, at least in an attempt to improve – but oh no, this is just as bad. This three track demo has perhaps the worst production I’ve ever come across. It’s not that it’s quiet (I had to turn my car stereo up to the loudest possible notch just to make it audible), but everything is so muffled that it’s difficult to make out the bass parts from the guitar parts. Infact the only part of this recording that comes out with any credit are the drums – but even then they’re badly recorded and pretty repetitive.
The songs themselves are predictable, lack structure and, partly because of the poor sound quality, don’t have any kind of pulling power. There are no hooks to suck you in, no melodies to have you sing along. This is mainly thanks to an absolutely dire singer, who kind of shouts and growls rather than sings. It’s probably because he can’t – it sounds like somebody cut open his throat and sandpapered it, stripping away any kind of goodness. This reads as a harsh review and deliberately so. You can record one bad demo and get away with it if you take advice and improve on it. All The Kimberly Steaks have shown is how to record another bad demo. There’s no listening pleasure here and no-one will ever attempt to sign the band on the basis of this recording. They could be great live and super nice guys, but sending this out in an attempt to get gigs or develop interest is a waste of everyone’s time.
www.kimberlysteaks.tk
Paul