Kentucky Knife Fight - 'The Wolf Crept, The Children Slept'

OK, Kentucky Knife Fight, your name is intriguing. I am intrigued. But how does your record hold up?

Hailing from Missouri, Kentucky Knife Fight aspires to Stooges-style rock ‘n’ roll (OK, and the Rolling Stones… and the Black Crowes…) on The Wolf Crept, The Children Slept. Sometimes it pays off – dig that early track “Lil’ Sister” – but the record peters out before the halfway point. It’s just a hair too bar band-y to truly recall Michigan’s greatest proto-punk group. While the record is no means a failure, bummer or stinker, it certainly doesn’t deviate much from its bluesy rock sound during its 42-minute running time, switching it up only to try on the occasional country-leaning tune.

That said, by virtue of its very style, I get the feeling that Kentucky Knife Fight puts on a good live show. The guitar work on tracks like “South Roxanna Wiggle” hints a band that probably knows how to improvise epic jams. “Wiggle” segues nicely into the next freewheeling song, “17.”

But while the band has a handful of solid riffs, there’s nothing particularly revelatory about any of the songs. Babyboomers might be stoked to hear KKF attempts to recall “when rock ‘n’ roll was dangerous” or whatever, but honestly, that’s what the Back From the Grave series is for.