The Union by Kelly 8

The final Kelly 8 album. The time off between their previous album and the recording of The Union allowed the band to continue honing their trademark sound and while the emo tag remained firmly attached (thanks Deep Elm!) their sound still came almost wholly from the post-hardcore noise of the early 90s when major labels were scouring the ranks of Dischord Records, Touch And Go and Sub Pop for the next big thing.

Produced once again by Carl Vikman (Jeniferever, Trapdoor Fucking Exit and loads more) at EAR studios in the band’s hometown of Uppsala, The Union was perhaps the bands most consistent release. Surprising, perhaps, given the inclusion of the band's first cover - a cover of Dugong’s "Quick to the City", a tribute to the band Kelly 8 toured with in 2006 and testament to friendship and mutual respect on the road. Here Kelly 8 completely made the song their own.

Of the brand new Kelly 8 songs the band veers from the almost serene pop of "Some kind of Wall" to the grunge-rock of "Spit it Out" with ease, all the while maintaining a controlled undercurrent thanks to a superbly surgical rhythm section that would bring to mind bands like Shellac, The Jesus Lizard or Helmet were it not for the more refined guitar melodies that carry through the album.

Bombed Out Records is a non-profit, do-it-yourself record label based in Leeds and Harrogate in the UK.

We've released records by: The Amistad, Blocko, The Dauntless Elite, Dropnose, Dugong, Eighty Six, Fig. 4.0, Homebrew, Jets Vs Sharks, Joe Ninety, Kelly 8, The Leif Ericsson, The Mercy Suite, Peachfuzz, Remainderfour, Saturday's Kids, The Take and Zapiain.

It's all good.

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