Can’t Get It Together – Shane M. Liebler

It’s a pop record, but the K’s aren’t what you’d call a pop band. There’s complexity here in both the use of various instruments and multiple influences.

It’s tough to be a roots-rock bar band from Louisville, Kentucky; that’s why lead singer/songwriter Daniel Killian took his dreams to New York City. The sound retains its heart-of-America flavor on high-energy cuts like the opening title track and “13 Steps,” both of which thoroughly repeat the choruses.

This style becomes less repetitive and more hypnotic as Can’t Get It Together breezes through its 15 songs in a scant 40 minutes. Tracks “Eliza Lynn,” both the subtitled “Bar” and “Saloon” versions, can stay in the Louisville taverns, though, along with a few other toss-aways.

The album is held together by the gratuitous use of horns, namely the sax, in scraggly harmony with Killian’s vocals, which are consistently reminiscent of Minutemen front-man D. Boon’s poetic growl, although the K’s make a far less artsy mess than those San Pedro, Calif., punk rockers.

The spirit of the punk and grunge three-piece is clearly at work in each piece of this collection. However, this ten-member ensemble keeps a far duller edge more on par with Philly catch-all rockers Marah. That said, Can’t isn’t without highlights.

The funky-ish “Good Man (Most Of The Time)” and honest strummer “We’re Never Getting Out Of Here” provide some apt counterweight to more forgettable compositions like “Peg Legged Pirate” and “RubbintheBuddha.”

The production is a step up from Basement Tape-raw, but a little too stiff for the energy that the K’s bring. A little dirt on the recording console would breathe a little more life into this decent batch of songs.

All told, Killian’s words and rhythms show plenty of potential that should mature — if not on tape, than in a club near you.

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