Kissies [SIC] might not be the best name for a screamo band who sound as dangerously agitated as they do. But, maybe they're not thinking of the kisses you get from your sweetheart after you part ways on a train platform. Maybe they mean the kind of kiss that you get from the bumper of a car as you leave said train station while not looking both ways at a crosswalk. More of a compound fracture than a smooch, actually. But, you know, they're artists... they like metaphors and stuff. And if you ever doubted that Kissies are in fact artists, you need to look no further than the album which they named after the "cool S" design, or, simply, S. The stunted 5th-grade version of yourself that lurks inside your brain just had their mind blown by this concept, while the *ahem* more mature side you display to the public is lathering up with Bengay so that they don't regret throwing down to this album in the morning. Perhaps I'm building this five-track little slugger up too much, but I couldn't give a damn. I like it too much to care about your judgment of my clearly superior taste. I like how S starts out with a metallic and pensive track like "Super Creatine" which whips around in a senseless rotating motion like a piece of tape stuck to a fan blade. I like how urgent and annihilation-prone "Cop Burial" is, like it is in a hurry to slam its grinning mug facefirst into a brick wall. I like how "Betrayal on Ice" seems like the band's attempt to mimic the violent dumb guy schtick of a '90s grindcore band, and that they follow it up with the sophisticated, brooding contortions of "Cry Laugh." And, finally, I like how they close S out with the flailing tormented breakdown of "Angley." Every thing on S is played incredibly loud with piercing guitar tones as well. Lyrics seem to mostly be about respecting the dignity of others while disrespecting authority- themes that will find no quarrel with me. I know I should probably try to preserve my hearing a little bit for when I'm older, but I also think I need to hear this album five more times before I go to bed tonight.
