Kent State Walk Through Walls EP

Kent State, from Baltimore, Maryland, has released a second EP titled Walk Through Walls, and like their first EP Spahn Ranch (reviewed on this blog HERE), and their single Challenger, they are giving it away as a free download to us all. Nick Vance, the voice and guitar behind Kent State, is full-time guitarist for awesome punk outfit Deep Sleep, and has been moonlighting with a few buddies as Kent State for a while now, putting his efforts into something different from the raucous, rowdy, most excellent punk rock of Deep Sleep. The sounds of Kent State songs are layered into distorted clouds of guitars and vocals that create a dark intrigue, but also retain a sense of light within the layers. Smashing cymbals and tambourines drive the songs of Walk Though Walls EP, and as they crash you into the walls of guitars, you realize it's a fantastic ride. Every song here is a highlight, but you might especially enjoy Hundred Years' War with its minute-long swagger psychedelic swagger that jumps right into Secrets For Sale, which has the signature hollow reverb of Kent State puffing wrecked smoke clouds all around the room. Low, wide-open guitar pairs with the airier vocals to continue the interplay that makes Kent State's music so intriguing.

So, Nicholas Vance invites you all to check out Kent State's music, no need to do anything more than download his own links:

Walk Through Walls EP

Spahn Ranch EP

Challenger single

Enjoy it all, friends!

Kent State

Kent State is the side project of Baltimore, Maryland, USA punk rock guitarist Nicholas Vance. Nicholas plays with Deep Sleep most of his time, but has recently begun recording songs of a less-punk nature with some friends under the band name Kent State. Spahn Ranch is the first four-song EP he's made available to us, and it's a killer of a debut EP. Though the songs may not be the punk rock Nicholas plays with Deep Sleep, they are nonetheless as edgy as hell, played with loud snarls of guitars, lots of reverb & noise, and dark lyrics that are a bit distorted to add to the mysterious vibe of the music. So you have mystery, energy, and some great, dark, noisy guitars played in four short songs that beg repeating. Nicholas's own description for the style of music is 'psychedelic death pop'. I bet you're intrigued by that, huh? I have to admit, I could not have put it better myself, as all those descriptive elements are definitely in these four songs. But there is also more, down deep, dark & hidden, which makes this music even more intriguing. These songs have an immediate catch, the hooks and riffs that you get, right at first listen, but later, there is the itch that you like it, but you're missing something, so you keep listening, and it gets better and better. The blog Paranoid Futures is where Nicholas Vance is posting any and all of his work and updates, so check it out and get the Spahn Ranch EP from his link there. Yes you can listen to the songs first on the player, but trust me, you will want them for yourselves. And also, there is more to come from Kent State, very very soon, excellent news.