It's not that this record is particularly awful; it's just that it's so painfully derivative of At the Drive-In and its subsequently spawned bands that I really can't stand to listen to it. Not that I'm surprised; when any band gets the level of attention that ATDI and the Mars Volta have been getting, you have to expect that a number of copycat bands are going to come out of the fold. But you don't expect them to be this similar: the same lead singer with a hushed, reserved voice that's probably supposed to sound poignant but instead comes out whiny; the same spacey lead guitar lines that sound so similar to Sparta's that I'm sure the band looked up a list of the guitars, amps, and pedals that Sparta uses online; the same ridiculous, awful, cryptic lyrics: "Shapeless rein... on crimson gums it leans its weight/ motion cannot be the only way." Everything is so similar that there's no way for to get past the glaring plagiarisms and try to appreciate the music.
And sorrily enough, Kimone comes up short of their Texan brothers on almost every level. Kimone's lead singer Tim Den doesn't seem to have the vocal chords to let out the quintessential Spartan or Voltanic screams. Their lyrics and song titles aren't totally bizarre enough to seem cool, but are weird enough to seem lame: I don't know what "Even Science Hears it Loud" is about, but it sounds a lot dorkier than "Pattern Against User" (and surprisingly enough, their titles are sometimes self-explanatory: "Coma Comfort" is about a dude in a coma, and "Divorce is an Easy Sell" is about consumerism). Most importantly, the music itself just doesn't cut it; there's some sort of frenetic energy and melodic awe evoked in At the Drive-In et al's music that Kimone just doesn't have. So stick with Relationship of Command; this won't be taking its place any time soon.
1. The Author Surrenders
2. Coma Comfort
3. Divorce Is An Easy Sell
4. Even Science Hears It Loud
5. Stop Stay Calm
6. It's Grace Will Wash Over Our Wounds
7. Pitiless, The Miles Forsake
8. Be More
9. The Mill
10. Intro
11. Ex-Completist