This “new” music from Kinetic Ideals is like hearing from a long-lost friend.
“This Face” is actually a recent release (September 2013) of 30-year-old music. Kinetic Ideals was a band from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, active in the early 1980’s. They put out only a couple handfuls of songs as EPs and singles. I was a big fan back in the day (especially of their amazing “Reason” EP – but more on that another time). They made a bit of a buzz up in Canada, but never really took off in a big way, which is unfortunate. Their sound fit comfortably under the large “post-punk” umbrella; I always thought their music would have felt very at home on Factory Records.
The four tracks on this EP are a great addition to the Kinetic Ideals discography. If you liked their earlier output, you’ll definitely like this. If you don’t know this band, this music is full of dancey rhythm and great processed guitar. Fans of the aforementioned Factory Records and some of the 80’s highlights of The Damned will also enjoy this.
The story of this record apparently goes back to spring of 1984 in Toronto. The songs were recorded at that time but remained unreleased all these years. The band broke up around 1985. I’ve read a couple places where they say the band members reconnected several years ago through social media. One thing led to another and eventually to the discovery of this material in the vault.
There is a nice looking limited-edition clear vinyl version available from Dead Wax Records. You can also get this digitally from the usual suspects. Now if Kinetic Ideals would just rerelease their other music, maybe we could get everyone on the bandwagon.