Kiss/Kick

Broken Spindles

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 17, 2009)
• Original Release Date: February 17, 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blank.Wav
• ASIN: B001P58EYI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #292,195 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Going through the motions, October 28, 2009

By	Arilitt "Chris Skabla" (bensalem, pa USA) - See all my reviews

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1. I've Never Been This Afraid- 6/10
2. Introvert- 7/10
3. No Mind Knows Mine- 7/10
4. The Moist Red Mess- 9/10
5. A Beat Down Break Up- 6/10
6. We All Want to Fit in- 9/10
7. In the Dark- 6/10
8. Figure Face Pretty Boy- 7/10
9. You're Happy but not for Long- 6/10
10. The Talk- 5/10


Joel Peterson plays bass in The Faint and Beep Beep. Broken Spindles started out as his side project, but has now become his solo vehicle. He combines elements of Indie Rock, Post-Punk, Techno, and Electronica to form a sound that is truly its own. It takes several listens to even begin to digest a Broken Spindles CD, because it's so odd. I have taken my time with this review. I have listened to this album over and over so I can wrap myself around it. I wanted this review to be as fair as possible.

What makes or breaks a Broken Spindles album is its quirkiness. Sometimes Joel Peterson's knack for "off the beaten track" musical compositions can backfire. Whether or not his album backfires or succeeds you know that he is making honest music. Making honest music makes a musician respectable, whether you like the music or not. On his previous two albums (Fulfilled/Complete and Inside/Absent) his musical risk taking yielded great results. Sure the music was quirky, but it was what he wanted to do. It was not quirky for the sake of quirky. On this album I do not feel a sense of honesty. Most of the songs neither backfire nor succeed. They just are. Sure most of the songs are rated in the average-good range, but they're hollow. Two songs on the album do not feel like he is going through the motions: The Moist Red Mess and We All Want to Fit In. They have the honest feeling that was on Fulfilled/Complete and Inside/Absent. This album could have been a great seven inch single(Side one: The Moist Red Mess/ Side Two: We All Want to Fit In), but instead its just an average album.

The song by song rating of this album is 68%, but the lack of feeling drops this one down to 59%. If not for The Moist Red Mess and We All Want to Fit In it would have easily been under 50%.

4.0 out of 5 stars 5th times a charm apparently, July 7, 2009

By	EerieVonEvil (The Rabbit Hole) - See all my reviews

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For a side project, it's pretty impressive that Joel Peterson has cranked out as many Broken Spindles albums as he has since the self-titled album back in 2002. Of course, this project is a lot more minimal in nature than The Faint, but each record has its own merit.

Kiss/Kick is probably the best of the bunch, next to Fulfilled/Complete. All of the tracks on here have vocals and guitar as well as minimal drum work. The songs on here seem very post-punk in nature and you can see how early Cure and Joy Division might have been an inspiration. There is still some synth work in the songs, but it is more subdued. Thats not to say Joel Peterson has abandoned his main musical venture. Introvert, the best track on here, is very new wave and a fun listen. Joel's vocals are the same dry monotone range that can be heard on the other albums, although he does push his range a little more on here.

Just like with the other Broken Spindles records, listening can be a bit tedious due to lack of "hooks" and memorable melodies. Kiss/Kick is definitely the first album I would suggest getting for new listeners as it has the most replay value out of the bunch. Then get the instrumental self-titled record & Fulfilled/Complete. I would leave Inside/Absent and Document Number One to completists only as they are very sparse and would be better suited as soundtracks for a film (which is what the original intent for this project was).

Recommended, but it doesnt hold a candle to The Faint of course.