The long-gestating second album by Boston art punk quintet
Kimone is both harder-edged and more diffuse than their debut. "Harder" in the sense that the guitars have more bite to them and singer Tim Den's newly assertive vocals are placed square in the foreground of the mix, but at the same time, the exploded song structures lead to more passages of prog-like exploration. The resemblance to
the Mars Volta and the like is perhaps unavoidable, but there is nothing on
The Mill that sounds merely derivative of the better-known bands in this style; indeed, a closer comparison might be a slightly more mainstream and vocal version of
Explosions in the Sky or
Do Make Say Think. Particularly on the opening track, "The Author Surrenders," drummer Ken Marcou seems to be intent on overplaying in the grand '70s prog manner, and his flourishes add an off-kilter edge to what might otherwise be just another angular post-post-punk sound. ~ Stewart Mason