Listening to the new album from Washington DC ska punk band Kill Lincoln is like experiencing one of the best live sets of your life. It opens up with an absolute ripper filled with gang vocals and high energy. In my mind, I can envision Drew crowd surfing to the middle of the pit, while Tyler’s drums lead the band through the setlist. I hear CJ’s pounding bass, and I know he’s either getting into a power stance on a stage amp, or he’s mid-jump.
Like any good show, you need spot to catch a breather because you don’t want to exhaust the crowd too quickly. So, the band ends No Normal at just under 30 minutes. This record leaves you exhausted, completely fulfilled, and anticipating the next time you can spin it on your turntable. Looking across the band’s discography, it’s the best they’ve ever sounded as well. Maybe the five years that have passed between this album and Can’t Complain helped them grow.
No Normal comes out of the gate swinging.
The opener, “I’m Fine (I Lied),” checks off every Kill Lincoln box. It’s filled with frenzied and extremely powerful horn work, courtesy of Ume and Food. The intro lead singer Mike Sosinski belts out before starting the song would wind up anyone into a frenzy. And don’t forget the heaps of gang vocals that keep the energy going. This fast-paced ska punk anthem discusses struggling internally while putting on a brave face for everyone to see. Eventually, no matter how hard you try, those cracks start to show. If the “This is Fine” meme with the cartoon dog in the burning office was a song, this would be it.
Kill Lincoln blends social commentary, political commentary, as well as relationship and mental health concerns into their lyrics. The songs drip with sarcasm, using humor as a coping mechanism to deal with anxiety. That’s why, when someone tells me ska music has no meaning or sends me the mozzarella cheese sticks meme, I share this band to counter that perception. In fact, the more I listen to No Normal, the more I feel like it’s a lot more personal than I thought at first spin.
The whole album is a gem.
It will please anyone with even the slightest interest in the modern ska punk scene. But the song “Coming or Going” is probably my personal favorite. The song was written by Mike Park (of Asian Man Records, Bruce Lee Band, The Chinkees, and Skankin’ Pickle fame) and sung by Kill Lincoln’s trombone player, Ume. While it has a faster ska punk backbone, the instrumental elements take inspiration from the traditional 2-Tone ska sound. This is mostly evident during the the intro and and the accelerated horn solos. It’s always fun to hear a band changing things up a bit and trying new things with their music.
The title track can be described as Bad Time Records in song form.
For the uninitiated, along with fronting Kill Lincoln, Sosinski also runs Bad Time Records. Thus, the entire album has songs that reveal how tiring it is to be DIY. It has tune about keeping a brave face, even when things aren’t going how you’d expect. But this track specifically is a 3:22 cathartic release, and the perfect choice to close the album. Through all the uncertainty, hardships, lost friends, triumphs, and tragedy, “No Normal” tells us it’s all been worth it.
“But I’m not giving up! (Oh No)
18 months and still no shows.
We never fell apart for all I know.”
Through the trials and tribulations of being in a band and running a label, Mike Sosinski and Kill Lincoln have excelled. Like the title track declaring, “I can do it maybe one more time,” I also can’t wait to hear what’s next. Until then, I’ll flip my vinyl to side A again, set the needle into the grooves, and get ready to listen to this band’s best album to date once more.