Luna Kills - not to be bitter, but it helps (Album Review)

Luna Kills is a young Finnish band I covered not too long ago where I talked a bit about their recent musical evolution from a classic hard rock-inspired sound to a modern alternative rock flavour, with clever and tasteful use of electronics. Check out my previous article here where I gave the band a lot of praise for their new singles also featured on this new album entitled "not to be bitter, but it helps".

The new album has now come out, so here's our review of it!

Band Name

Luna Kills formed in 2015 under the name "Tocornal" and later changed it to its current form. Not sure if inspiration was drawn from that ominous moon in Zelda: Majora's Mask that instantly kills and consumes everything once the time runs out, or if it's the band's interest in space in general. Regardless, I can see why they changed it since "Luna Kills" is more memorable for sure, and a whole lot easier to communicate.

The all-consuming moon in Zelda: Majora's Mask - giving children nightmares since 2000.

Embracing the Limitations of a Trio

The band currently consists of vocalist Lotta Ruutiainen, guitarist Samuli Paasineva and bassist Lassi Peltonen. They released their debut album Before the Satellites as a four-piece in 2019, but since they took a slightly different direction thereafter, they also parted ways with their former drummer due to some musical differences. Hence, the band is currently short of a percussionist.

Being a one-guitar band as well doesn't appear to limit their creativity in any way. Guitarist Samuli Paasineva still manages to excel with great soloing and technical prowess. And they also take the opportunity to fill their soundscapes with other elements, like the cool synth progression that goes behind the main riff on prove me wrong. Another example being the piano that echoes through the intro riff of the excellent single bITTER sONGS COME EASY. The piano part really made the song stick in my head, and it gives it a bit of a gothic vibe as well which reminds me of the song Erased by British doom metallers Paradise Lost.

Video interview with Tuonela Magazine where the band talks a little about the evolution of their sound and where they are currently.

A Modern Sounding Album

Sounding "modern" in rock can be polarising, as dabbling with electronics et cetera can sometimes take away from the core essentials of rock. Luna Kills do it the right way, however, and whenever they incorporate electronic elements, they do so in a way that builds upon and enhances their punchy sound, rather than diluting it or otherwise compromising with what essentially makes rock music engaging in the first place.

Strong Opening

Going through the album from front to back, it knocks you right off the chair with the strong opener Honey Trap, which was one of my faves before hearing the full album.

DEAD2ME has a cool intro riff reminiscent of "Stockholm Syndrome" by Muse. It's more midtempo and has more weight to it, though, which instantly makes you want to swing and bob your nugget along. The verses are quite soft and laid back, however. You can also hear a bit of their earlier sound in this one with some proper hard rock soloing towards the end.

The bass-driven color blind is quite easygoing and groovy. I read in some interview that the band is influenced by jazz and blues, and I can hear it seeping into their music to a certain extent. They contrast this with some modern electronic flavours right after, with prove me wrong, before the dials get turned back once again on the ballad chaos theory.

Momentum and Dynamics

If I'm to be somewhat critical, the album loses a bit of momentum after the second track, and it doesn't quite pick up the pace again until the absolute bangers bITTER sONGS COME EASY and liar, liar enter at the latter half of the LP. With such an energetic and high-octane start, I'd wished they'd kept that spark going for a bit longer. The two final tracks hazy lines and old blood are also more relaxed and midtempo, where the latter of the two is, in spite of its title, probably the most poppy and groovy song on the record.

The release is on the shorter end of the album spectrum, and with nearly half the tracks being quite laid-back and/or mellow, it leaves you wanting more of those more punchy, heavy songs like the three singles. A few additional heavy-hitters would have made the album more balanced and impactful as a whole. This is of course a minor complaint, and only something you'd take notice of when listening to the album front to back.

bITTER sONGS COME EASY - a great, hard-hitting track off the new album.

Bottom Line

All things considered, it's a highly enjoyable album and one that I would definitely recommend! As mentioned in the earlier post, the band has very capable musicians onboard and singer Lotta Ruutiainen has an amazing and quite recognisable voice as well, further helping the band stand out from the bunch. I'm also glad they let the vocals stand strong on their own, rather than messing around with wonky filters and pitch modulation. Something we often see being over-used in modern music production, in general, these days.

Luna Kills deserves some seríous praise and recognition for sure. They are a proper rock band that pushes the genre forward without compromising with the root elements of rock, and that is exactly what the scene needs to stay healthy and relevant. As mentioned earlier, the band is currently drummerless, though, so I hope that won't hinder them too much going forward.

Have you given this album a listen? Did you love it? Did you hate it? What would you rate it?
Let me know in the comments!

Tasty Artwork

One last thing before I quit (are you humming Monkey Wrench yet?): The graphics design nerd in me makes me want to give props for the band logo and artwork as well. It has a cool industrial look to it that reminds me of old Filter and Gravity Kills albums, while also sporting a modern, artistic flair. Very nice!