A couple of years ago, I spent a Friday afternoon going down the rabbit hole of some new and interesting bands and ended up ordering a cassette from UK label Very Gun Records called Fuzz Pop. That comp included tracks from acts like Lisa Prank, Expert Alterations, and The Daddyos. One track that always stood out to me was "Crown Royal" by a band called Kissing Is A Crime. The tape was a compilation of 20 bands, and I never really paid much attention to who was who; but I'd slap it on from time to time and often skip to that song.
Fast-forward to almost three years later, and I received a review copy of the self-titled debut from Kissing Is A Crime. The name sounded familiar; and, then, when I saw "Crown Royal" at track 7, I started to get excited. There's nothing particularly "fuzz poppy" about the song. On the other hand, like much of Kissing Is A Crime, it's a jangly, chimey, forward-moving bit of post-punk pop.
Founded by New Jersey native Matt Molnar, Kissing Is A Crime didn't really start to come together until Molnar hooked up with singer / bassist Beatrice Rothbaum. He shared several of the literally post-punk (Molnar had previously performed in several hardcore / punk bands, but wanted to try something different) bedroom recordings he'd been working on, and the pair started writing together. The band expanded to a four-piece which, here, includes amazing guitar and drum work from Liz Hogg and Alex Feldman respectively.
I say this all the time; but one of the things I find so appealing about music like this is that, underneath the cool detachment of the staccato drums, prominent basslines, and sometimes deadpan vocals, there is all this urgent emotion straining to push through. That's evident on opening track, "Nervous Conditions," where Molnar and Rothbaum alternate between subdued verses and an exuberant chorus.
Kissing Is A Crime is solid from front to back, and it's hard for me to write about it without saying simply, "This song is great. So is this one. Oh, yeah, and this one, too." "Sheila's Gone" is airy and atmospheric. "You Make Me Shatter," and its Belle & Sebastian-like chamber pop, could be my favorite song on the record. "Someone Who Needs No One" is in the same vein, Rothbaum's vocals lending a sweet tweeish-ness to the chorus. Ode to skateboarding, "Kids," is, at times, one of the "fuzzier" songs on the album. It swings and sways and is meant to flood the headphones of anyone engaged in any kind of movement. Closer "Unanswered Prayers" opens with Rothbaum's bass, which continues to drive the song as Cure-inspired guitars and and the duo's vocals start to soar.
Over at Kissing Is A Crime's Bandcamp, Molnar says, "Basically, I was trying to do this band during every band that I've been in. This is the band I’ve been trying to do for a long time." Kissing Is A Crime is a truly amazing realization of that effort.
Kissing Is A Crime is out now on Don Giovanni Records.
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