The Koffin Kats - Drunk in the Daylight

Band: The Koffin Kats

Album: Drunk in the Daylight

Label: Hairball8

The Koffin Kats have been tearing it up the psychobilly scene over in Detroit, Michigan for what feels much longer than their five years as a band.  After forming in 2003 the band made quick work to record three albums in as many years, continually evolving their trademark rockabilly punk fusion with each new release.  Then in 2006 the group took a slight break from the studio, presumably focusing on touring (they're one of the most active punkabilly bands I can think of) rather than racing to finish their next project.  For a band and young as and with as much drive as The Kats,  a two year breather between releases is like an eternity.  Based on the  improvements in their fourth release, Drunk in the Daylight, the band used these two years quite productively.

There are two basic differences between Drunk in the Daylight and their previous efforts.  First, while previous releases drew their greatest inspiration from neo-rockabilly influences, their latest effort finds the band including greater doses of punk, and to a lesser extent rock, and even metal, creating the largest addition to their formula to date.  While the lead singer maintains his trademark rockabilly croon (enhanced by backing vocals and expansive woahs), the band speeds up the musical backdrop.  Songs like "Experiment" and "Theme for a Sinner" feature complex guitar solos, drawing from rock and metal influences respectively.  With more complexity to each song, the band has increased average song length to around two or three minutes.  No need for worry though, the band doesn't mosey around - each song maintains its own memorable qualities while working within The Kats firmly established punkabilly core.

I would imagine that simply comparing Drunk in Daylight's clean, professional album art to previous albums' minimalist "do-it-yourself" covers would be enough to raise any fan's eyebrows.  Blood stained text has been replaced with elegant fonts, and three well postured gentlemen stand in place of chaotic depictions of the band.  In this sense the art serves to prepare fans for the most obvious difference between Drunk in the Daylight and previous releases: and audible improvement in production quality.  While previous releases gave off a "garage" feel, here each instrument is clearly distinct and the vocals are eerily clean.  I fear the band may take heat from their fans, which would be a shame because the musical improvements make a very fine finished product.  While many bands often let improvements in production quality effect the contents of their songs, the Kats merely use it as a tool to clarify what has already made them popular.  For this reason I urge fans to clear their minds of recent disappointments (like Tiger Army's Music From Regions Beyond where the band let the temptation of increasing production quality alter their core product) and simply listen to the album, rather than the production quality.