Konversations Kill is a Canadian Alternative Rock outfit made up of the duo Scott Burton and Stephen Selski. After spending some time doing other projects, these guys decided to come together to play a different direction of music where acoustic guitars and a nostalgic Alt Rock sound are the main focus. They just released their self-titled debut album, where most of the songs were released as singles before and some are completely new.
The first song, I’m Not Crazy, presents the album’s main idea clearly and with all the elements you’d expect from Burton and Selski given their career history. The acoustic guitars with the powerful bass and drums create a danceable atmosphere, especially at the transition from verse to chorus. The vocals are anthemic and arena-worthy, and the production makes them shine and soar even more on this track and you’ll find yourself singing along to the chorus from your first listen to the song. The second track, What It’s All About, is a very unique track because of its ethereal vocal layering, the lengthy verses and epic soundtrack-ish chorus. The third track, I’m Not Like You, is a relatively shorter one with more powerful vocals and an edgier chorus…it’s probably my favorite track on the whole album. The following track, Come Into The Fire, begins with a chord progression and a drum roll which quickly shifts to a powerful and poppy beat and an overdriven strong single layer of vocals. The moment the chorus hits with the shouty backing vocals, I found myself banging my head along to the beat.
No No No has a very exotic combination of raspy vocals, strong drum/bass lines, and clean acoustic guitars…which almost feels like it’s an acoustic version of a hard rock song, but it’s more than that…the way the acoustic guitar interplays with the keyboards and the vocals during the chorus makes it its own distinct rock style. Mary Mary is a keyboard-driven number, although the thematic acoustic guitars are still present throughout the track. It has that arrangement that makes you think of your favorite 80s pop rock hit, and the stellar production and layering with backing vocals adds more to that same flavor. Don’t Push The Button feels like it belongs on the soundtrack of a cool popcorn flick due to its fast pace, the siren sound emulating a car chase feeling, and its masterpiece lyrics. The vocals are at their strongest here too.
The last two songs on the record were not given a release as a single like all of the past tracks, so it was a great pleasure getting to hear them when I listened to the album in its entirety and got the whole acoustic rock experience that Konversations Kill is all about. Pretty Lady is another key-driven track and it’s one of the few songs that has a romantic feeling to it on the album. I love how every single vocal line ends with some cool twang or stress on a vowel, like the vocalist is channeling his inner Alex Turner. Suicide High has a pretty mellow and positive sound despite of its title. I loved how intense the vocals are, and how they make it sound like an upbeat pop rock number with a colorful atmosphere hiding its dark lyrics, reminding me of Pumped Up Kicks.
All in all, this album succeeds at making the acoustic guitar heavy as hell, and the band spares us no melody, songwriting, powerful vocals, and insightful lyrics on every single song, making this one of the best and most unique releases of the summer.
