KEN Mode - Loved

KEN Mode is a Canadian Post-Hardcore outfit who have been at it for quite some time, bringing some ferocious and Sludgy elements to the genre.  Now,  call me nuts, but I was never really into 2003's "Mongrel".  There's nothing wrong with this album, the breakdowns are fine and the vocal performances are erratic.  But there's nothing about this album at all that really grabs me and makes me come back to it.  However, I was instantly much more interested in their 2006 follow-up "Reprisal".  The production on this album was loads better, and I got the feeling like these guys were legitimately unhinged and ready to hit you with anything at a moments notice.  Tracks like "I Simply Am Not There" were exciting as hell, and I was instantly so much more interested in what KEN Mode would do next.   In 2006 KEN Mode returned with "Mennonite", their most combustible and rowdy album yet.  I felt like listening to this that each and every one of these tracks wanted to break out and rip me to shreds, from absolute bangers like "Dear John Letter Crew" to more straightforward Post Hardcore gems like "I Send My Regards to the Colonel".  KEN Mode continued to sound like a well oiled Post Hardcore machine with the brilliant "Venerable" in 2011.  There were more Math Rock and Noise Rock elements by the moment, and more than anything it just seemed like KEN Mode was working with some very patient, slick atmosphere which I loved.  From the straightforward banger "Baholith" to the winding and grizzly "The Irate Jumbuck", this album was pretty great.  But with 2013's "Entrench", KEN Mode really just got a little too safe for me.  The playing was fine, the vocals were fine, but absolutely nothing about this album stood out to me as something wild and new for KEN Mode.  But with 2015's "Success" we got a big change of pace indeed.  Steve Albini took the production rails, and this album as you can imagine got big and heavy real quick.  And I do get some of the criticisms this album gets because there are some moments that I feel like the writing here is straight up goofy.  But this is easily the wildest and legitimately Punk album KEN Mode have put out in years, and I actually am a huge fan of it.  And from the sound of these new singles, man oh man, KEN Mode are on a roll man.  A ferocious one.  Let's chat friends.

This album starts off with “Doesn’t Feel Pain Like He Should”.  This is one noisy, grimy, grungy start if I ever heard one.  It’s intense, with explosive drums and muscular riffs, but if you were expecting anything different you, my friend, are wrong.  Jesse Matthewson sounds strangely rejuvenated since the last time we heard from KEN Mode.  Now, without Steve Albini on production, it’s not as claustrophobic as some of the material on “Success”, but this is still an absolutely brutal intro.  And if anyone wasn’t into some of the vocals and lyrics on that last album, you should be much more into this.  Especially with some of the ridiculously chugging riffs in the second half, this is one hell of an intro.  On the other hand, “The Illusion of Dignity” is so much more sluggish and pummeling.  There’s practically a Nu-Metal edge to this, that’s just how sluggish and chugging this one is.  But I actually think it comes off fantastic.  On the contrary, it makes this one absolutely suffocating.  KEN Mode seem to really be on the same page, which is something I did worry about for a while.  But man, this track is brutal.  And the production may not be as buff and muscular as Steve Albini’s, but this is pretty damn close.  Especially in this track’s final moments where the entire band freak the hell out.  It’s one killer track. On the other hand, “Feathers & Lips” absolutely rips from start to finish.  Like, there is nothing about this track that’s too much to dive into.  This is just a killer riff, some strangely melodic vocals, and an overall off-the-rails feel that I can’t get enough of.  It’s intense, chugging, sweaty and so god damn muscular.  It’s also one of the shortest tracks here, which just reminds you of what KEN Mode can do in a short period of time.  The solos are noisy, as is a whole lot of this album.  Between all of that and these absolute nutty breakdowns, this track is one of the best Post-Hardcore tracks I’ve heard all year.  This year has been unreal for the heavier side of Rock.

By the time “Learning to Be Too Cold” comes along, I just have one question.  How did this all come off so heavy?   I love just how pummeling this one is right from the intro, I literally have no room to breathe.  Then we have this absolutely vicious, cutting vocal performance which may be one of his most up-front here.  It’s not even close to anything fancy.  But man oh man, does it ever make me want to pump some iron and knock out some haters.  Not to mention, there are some really great nods to MathCore in the last minute.  KEN Mode, sound incredible.  I have to give a shoutout to some of the breakdowns here, I feel like they’ve just been putting together some of the best of their career.  I feel like as this album goes on with “Not Soulmates”, this one just gets more and more like a pressure cooker that’s ready to pop at any minute.  It’s just so vicious, and I love hearing KEN Mode dive out into some Hardcore sounds as well.  Now, this one could have been maybe a little catchier if you ask me, especially with how catchy this album has been occasionally.  But man oh man, this album still beats the piss out of you and doesn’t feel bad at all.  But then we have “Very Small Men”, which returns to the absolutely off-the-rails feel that we’ve been dealing with for the rest of this album.  I love the sheer brutality of this one.  Yea, this one isn’t as catchy as some of the earlier tracks, but it doesn’t need to be.  I love how this one has this snarl to it that is just so in-your-face that I can’t help but love it.  And Jesse’s vocals continue to be just so explosive, I’m so much more into them here than on the band’s previous release.  And the playing all around just continue to be just so tight.  Man, this rips. 
On the other hand, “This Is a Love Test” is a complete left turn.  This one is a patient, brooding tune with tons of character and seemingly endless shout-outs to the artsier side of Post Hardcore and Mathcore.  That Sax is just so mysterious, and Jesse’s performance is just so fucking dangerous.  To the point where when that chorus bashes in and we get this explosion of all sorts of emotions, it’s incredible.  Now, this will be a hard one to sit through for some, since this has been an incredibly direct and explosive album.  But it’s absolutely worth the wair, and ends up being one of the most exciting tracks here.  Then we get “Fractures in Adults”, which continues to roll on with these chugging guitars that grow into these wild, soaring solos.  On the other hand, Jesse’s performance here is one of his most vicious and colorful here, and oddly enough one of his catchiest.  And whoever told these guys they should just be constantly doing breakdowns by the end of this tack, good on ya.  This one is just so rowdy, I can’t say no at all.  But man, one thing I didn’t expect was an 8-minute monster of a finale in the form of “No Gentle Art”.  This is one of the slowest and most patience-testing tracks here, maybe even in the band’s entire career.  Like, the sheer mystery is something else.  But this is a LOT to take in.  I do like the danger aspect to this because this is a stunning exercise in patience.  And yes, by the end of the track things to get a little better when those very tense guitars come in.  But this sadly isn’t the ending I wanted.  Like, if this was maybe 3 or 4 minutes shorter, I would be fine.  But even outside of that, I’m not nearly as into the crunching guitars here, they haven’t sounded this cheesy the entire album.  I'm just not into this overall.  And yes, Jesse’s freakout is genuinely fantastic and ridiculous alongside that trumpet.  But man, I really wish I could dig this track more. 

Rating: 8.5/10

Give A Listen To: “The Illusion of Dignity”, “Feathers & Lips”,  “Learning to Be Too Cold”, “Fractures in Adults”

Least Favorite Track: “No Gentle Art”

Genre: Post-Hardcore / Noise Rock / Sludge Metal

Overall Thoughts: 2018 continues to be a genuinely fantastic year for the heavier side of Rock.  KEN Mode come off their polarizing “Success” album that’s even rowdier and more untamable.  There are MathCore references here, and bizarre horn breakdowns that would make the boys of Dillinger Escape Plan blush.  But more often than not, the sheer simplicity of this album is what makes it tick.  I haven’t heard KEN Mode playing with such technicality in years, and the fact that they sound this focused this far into their career is a testament to how great they are.  And sure, I do miss the bulkier production of Steve Albini, but for a 9 track album, this is surprisingly VERY solid Post-Hardcore album.