S.J. and Maygen Kardash were fed every genre as kids: playing classically, listening to their father's collection of rock and new wave, and watching the polished music videos of the '90s. And while S.J.'s music career started at the young age of 10 (in a touring blues band and then later in an indie rock band), Maygen meandered down the paths of illustration, acting, and fashion until joining forces with S.J. and another set of siblings in 2006 to found The Blood Lines, a pop band that had some good successes in its short lifespan. But when The Blood Lines collapsed, the Kardash kids decided to step things up with their own project in which they planned to be aggressive and strong, not censoring their emotions over the breakup but instead amplifying them on tape. They called themselves Violent Kin, and in 2009, their first album, Bitter Blood was born kicking and screaming.
OFFICIAL SITE :: MYSPACE :: FACEBOOK :: TWITTER
The Kin were offered a residency in New York City that summer, so they hired a band, set up camp in the Apple, and greedily took every opportunity like it would melt if they didn't - which amounted to an extensive North American tour. The album received 4.5 out of 5 from Chartattack, glowing reviews from regional papers, and play everywhere from Germany to the Canary Islands. Violent Kin had only been back home for a couple of weeks before they joined UK act Band of Skulls on the western leg of their Canadian tour and played showcases at LA's famous Viper Room as well as festivals like CMJ, CMW, and NXNE. The traveling, performances, interviews and photo shoots felt like something big was just one more bite away, but every album has a lifespan and it was time to go back into the studio to write another record.
So Violent Kin began to write and as the venom of their first album seemed to evaporate, a new feeling of gratitude and understanding arose. They crafted four songs whose lyrics of solitude, doubt, and love are balanced by roaring guitar riffs, catchy synth lines, and heavy rocking drums. The Kin's new Velvet Hideout EP brings to mind Genesis and their other '80s influences but adds a raw edge that can only conjure the title of "electro-rock." The Velvet Hideout EP is an appropriate introduction to the band, and is more a meal than an appetizer to their upcoming full-length release in Fall 2011.
