Customer Reviews

Killed for Less

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For years I have had the urge to write a review about "Killed for Less", but how does one ever explain the feeling of this album. Forgive my absence of a technical review and accept an emotional review, i wouldn't know how to explain this album any other way. My first introduction to Sense Field was thanks to a Purged snowboard company video called "Broke and Penniless" released back in 94'. It featured the songs "Blue glass man" and "Found you". By some fate, I found Killed for Less the day I went looking for it, and in a local record store that had never carried anything of the like. You will fall in love with this record if you allow yourself. Jon's voice has the power to awake everything "free" within you, and the music will haunt you, as it continues with me 11 years since. 'Building' is exactly what it is, it builds the intensity where Killed for Less left you speechless 2 years before. These are the two most spiritually powerful albums of my life...religion aside, let the music of Sense Field take you to a higher place within yourself.

"Goodloveall"....Thank you 1990-2004

This might sound silly, but this is the band that got me into punk. Sense Field was always more of a Pixies-esque type of band, but they were on the hardcore-punk label Revelation Records. In 1994, I was 16 and into Candlebox and Stone Temple Pilots. These guys were my first experience with "underground" music. And because of these guys and the ads in the CD I suddenly realized that there were weird bands called the Gorilla Biscuits and Bold and Quicksand and Inside Out and then onto Victory and Equal Vision and etc. They are the second best show I've ever seen (in a basement in a VFM in Mankato, MN in 1996...and that's behind Sunny Day Real Estate, which can't be beat.)

As far as KILLED FOR LESS as an album goes... I think it is their best. The self-titled album doesn't really count because it is two EPs lumped together. Building is a close second.

I'll be interested to see how Jon does in Further Seems Forever. To be honest, he seems too old to be in a trendy emo band like that. Maybe I'm wrong. I've met him twice and he's THE nicest guy on the planet...so I wish him well.

Post-script: To me this has always been the weirdest band on the planet. Not because of their music, but because they were an indie band on a hardcore punk label in the 90's. And then with the slight commercial success in the early 2000's. And now with Jon in Further Seems Forver.

So here's the weird closer: They are the Pixies if they were on a punk label. Even though the Pixies are WAY more punk than Sense Field. It's a paradox.

Sense Field was a very dynamic group to come out of Los Angeles during the grunge scene during the late 90's. They are definitely NOT grunge, but they had something to prove. They helped influence many of today's indie punk artists. Lead vocalist Jonathan Bunch is now the vocalist for Further Seems Forever, a great Christian indie punk band. "Found You" is a great song, especially with the opening drum line and the guitar lines that take you back to 1994, such a great year. "Today and Tomorrow" is a great opener to this indie punk classic. "Killed For Less" is an essential to anybody's CD collection, especially the one who like today's indie punk generation of bands like Taking Back Sunday, Further Seems Forever and Senses Fail (both names sound alike). Definitely recommended.

I won't gabble on too much, but I was introduced to Sense Field by a friend in 1995, and they have been my favourite band ever since. I saw them live when they came on tour to England and it was the best gig I have ever been to. This band just rocks!

I have always considered this Sense Field's "experimental" album and such a tag applies even more these days as their sound has become noticeably radio-friendly, especially to those whose first exposure to the band is the new album, "Living Outside". Don't get me wrong - I am still a big fan. I have been into these guys since their early demo songs as Reason To Believe. If you listen to "When Reason Sleeps, Demons Dance", the sole full-length record by RTB, the origin of Sense Field's sound becomes immediately apparent. Jon's trademark vocals and an impressive sense of melodicism are there in full force, propelled by a galloping hardcore tempo. When they first decided to continue on as Sensefield, stretching out their musical "palette" was the name of the game. Therefore, the first two EP's (the single CD reissue of which is often mistaken as Sense Field's first album) showcase a more eclectic vibe, and this aesthetic was continued into "Killed For Less". One noticeable thing is that on those releases Jon doesn't sing lead vocals on every song. And as an example of what I'm talking about, listen to the second track on "Killed For Less". It sounds as if it could have been recorded by an entirely different band! It is an enjoyable album, although I really wish they would remix and re-release it. The vocals are buried and the guitar sound is muddy and echoey on many tracks. Sense Field's sound greatly benefits from clear powerful production, as can be heard on their last three full-length recordings. The band really did hit their stride with the return-to-form "Building" which combined the passion and directness of Reason To Believe with the skills of a mature, experienced rock band. This manner of evolution has continued on through the latest album and it has been amazing and rewarding to witness. Viewing the genesis of Reason To Believe on through the present as one continuation (which it essentially is), "Killed For Less" can be seen as an interesting chapter - possibly a slight departure - in this musical entity's existence.