| Kill Tunes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1986 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Label | SST [1] | |||
| Leaving Trains chronology | ||||
| ||||
Kill Tunes is the second album by the American indie rock band Leaving Trains. [2] [3] It was released in 1986 via SST Records. The band supported the album with a North American tour. [4]
"Private Affair" is a cover of a song by the Saints. [5] Kill Tunes is the last album on which the Hofer brothers played. [2] "10 Generations" addresses themes of authenticity and selling out. [6]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Robert Christgau | B+ [7] |
| Lincoln Journal Star |  [8] |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer | [9] |
| Record-Journal | B [6] |
| Reno Gazette-Journal | [10] |
Trouser Press wrote that frontman Falling James Moreland "displays his boozehound-next-door humor for the first time on “A Drunker Version of You,” and it provides a welcome respite from the vitriol sprayed elsewhere." [11] The Los Angeles Times thought that "it's one narrow line between convoluted and eclectic, and Leaving Trains walks it, bends it and ties it into knots." [12] The Reno Gazette-Journal determined that "the guitar attack is reminiscent of the Clash in their heyday." [10]
Robert Palmer, in The New York Times , declared: "The album title is apt; Mr. Moreland writes the songs, then the band assaults them with well-placed jabs, hard riffing, chaotically celebratory vocals and sheer energy"; Palmer later listed Kill Tunes as the third best album of 1986. [13] [14] The Providence Journal opined that "Kill Tunes does smack of revival, but not of stale rehash." [15]
AllMusic wrote that "the album mixes soft ballads, high-octane rave-ups, and furious rock played with endearing jangle, roaring bar chords, and catchy pop hooks." [5] Spin listed the album as one of the 80 "excellent" underground rock albums of the 1980s. [16]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Light Rain" | 2:26 |
| 2. | "She's Looking at You" | 2:32 |
| 3. | "Private Affair" | 2:04 |
| 4. | "Cigarette Motel" | 1:22 |
| 5. | "10 Generations" | 3:39 |
| 6. | "Kinette" | 3:29 |
| 7. | "A Drunker Version of You" | 2:29 |
| 8. | "Black" | 1:54 |
| 9. | "Falling" | 2:11 |
| 10. | "Vicki" | 2:02 |
| 11. | "Terminal Island" | 2:22 |
| 12. | "Warning Track" | 2:26 |
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