KEN mode’s real success has always been their live show. The Winnipeg natives have been together for over 12 years, and have been road-dogging almost consistently since they began touring for their previous album, Entrench, in 2013. It makes sense, then, that brothers Jesse and Shane Matthewson, and their newest bassist, Skot Hamilton, would decide to record with Steve Albini in order to capture their ferocious live sound. Success has been treated as a departure from the band’s sound, and it is of course different from their previous record Entrench‘s dirtied-up, metallic hardcore. But Success is really a return to the band’s roots in noise rock—just a little more tightly controlled than before.   Continue reading →