
Kerosene 454
Came By to Kill Me
Solid Brass Records
Hold on to Came By to Kill Me for dear life with the kung-fu grip of Kerosene 454, who never let go of their fast and furious 1996 LP. Out of print for 29 years, and vastly undervalued throughout its volatile existence, the fiery unit’s sophomore effort is being reissued, still shouting its cryptic, angsty messages over pummeling, staggered rhythms and angular, buzzsaw guitars in a swarm of careening, indie/post-hardcore riffs and rage. Its raw intensity hasn’t waned.
Lumped in with other Washington D.C. area firebrands, like Fugazi and Jawbox, Kerosene 454 was, at least at this stage, paying less attention to melody, while whipping up a complex and utterly compelling racket. Going for broke on Came By to Kill Me, leaving scads of 7-inch releases and its first LP, Situation at Hand, in its agitated wake, Kerosene 454 welcomed punishing new drummer Darren Zentek into the fold, and he makes an immediate impression, his pounding beats introducing the hard-charging punk catharsis of opener “Tracer.” The launch of Came By to Kill Me is spectacular to witness.
Perhaps more in keeping with the visceral, stop-start dynamics and emo intricacy of San Diego’s Drive Like Jehu, another contemporary, Kerosene 454 constantly brakes hard and then accelerates, driving recklessly in relentless chases such as “Closing” and “All Eyes West” and getting pulled into the cruising straightaways of “T Minus 100.” It’s not all frenzied bluster and bone-on-bone, hit-and-run collisions, although the rugged “Fanfare” churns and contorts violently like the Jesus Lizard. If the tortured, yet mesmerizing, guitar interplay of Erik Denno and Jim Wall mostly slashes and plays out like a choreographed knife fight, on the instrumental “Angelic in G#,” it is a beautiful, if edgy, ballet — “Four Knots” taking a similarly affecting path, with all its unspoken yearning. The latter has digital-only availability.
As a signpost, “Worthington” offers the best directions to where Kerosene 454 is going, with its burbling, brawling bass line and how it abruptly shifts from quiet meditation to an angry hive of activity and turbulence. Rife with tension, there is also satisfying release on Came By to Kill Me, and a slightly off-kilter bent to the otherwise vertiginous “Some Walk” gets under your skin in interesting and provocative ways. This is only the beginning. More old Kerosene 454 is likely to be repackaged. Don’t jostle any of it. The contents are likely to be incendiary.