Kill Your Idols were always one of those bands to me. I never considered myself a fan of their music, maybe having a track or two on various compilations, but I would never outwardly say "they suck" or some similar criticism. My indifference to the band wasn't total either. I can recount seeing them four or five times, almost always playing main support to the band I really wanted to see, but even when they headlined I'd stick around, having paid my ten dollars or so, just to check out their performance and the crowd's reaction. I never got into them too much though; the songs just sounded too similar to each other in a live setting, which turned me off from ever purchasing their recorded work. And then this little album fell into my hands.
Something Started Here is a solid album for the die-hard Kill Your Idols fan or the new listener trying to get a feel for their sound. For the former, here are all the tracks, both originals and covers, from various EP's, splits, and compilations in one neat album sparing the need to hunt down rare or out of print records, many of which only saw a vinyl release. For the latter, the category into which I place myself,Something Started Here provides a small taste of the band from each era of their sound. Only witnessing the band in the second half of their career, I was surprised to hear how much Kill Your Idols improved musically over the years. To my ears they had never strayed too far from a very basic punk formula, which is true to a degree, but the intricacies of their evolution can really be heard on this album when the songs are put up right next to each other. The songwriting is tighter; the choruses have more cadences; and the performance, more self-assured.
I must admit though my real enjoyment of this album comes not from being a fan of the band or even of punk, hell it has nothing to with the music itself actually. I like this album as a lover of history. Being a retrospective album, Something Started Here contains expansive liner notes about each recording session alongside a history of the band's inner workings and humorous anecdotes about some Kill Your Idols' more colorful members. To me this is what really makes the album, the stories that led to the songs themselves.
For those still curious about the band or who are new to punk in general and want to hear great selections from one of its former heavyweights, I suggest this album. For the Kill Your Idols enthusiast, it's a must. However from the casual fan, there's not too much this album can show you that you don't already know.
