KÜKEN - s/t (III) [IMPORT] – New LP

MAXIMUMROCKNROLL.COM (USA) FEB 2024 Hamburg’s KÜKEN (“Cock”) showing up like the neighborhood kid you haven’t seen in a while, and suddenly he’s all grown up and muscular and shit on this third self-titled LP. Their previous efforts have been great, delivering some of the best garage punk of our time, but now they’ve evolved into certified killers, playing top-tier dirty rock’n’roll to rival even the finest moments of classic Rip Off Records and such. The eleven sharp tunes here carry an effortless swagger, and every song is a banger. The band’s signature shambling groove established on tracks like “Stick Meat” from their debut LP turns up polished and perfected on tunes like “Off The Track” and “Goatleather,” flooding my brain with dopamine every time it hits. There’s an obvious RAMONES homage at work in these songs, along with a rare degree of sophisticated juvenility that reminds me of ’90s French punk heroes the SPLASH FOUR, and overall they’re just really in-the-pocket on this shit-hot thumper of a record. It’s a perfect soundtrack for exhibiting poor judgment, risking it all, or just, you know, getting over-excited while driving home from work. (BM)

fasterandlouderblog.blogspot.com (USA) DEC 2023 Merry Christmas, rockers! Dressed as Santa Claus, Daniel from Alien Snatch Records has snuck into the house and slid new releases from Sex Mex, Graveyard of the Pacific, and KÜKEN under the tree. What a way to close out a year! I have documented the musical career of twins Philipp and Chris since 1999, when they debuted as the teens in the magnificently trashy Highschool Rockers. In 2003, they formed The Kidnappers — who would go to become one of the premier garage punk/powerpop groups of the 2000s. Since 2014 or so, they've been playing more straight-forward punk rock in the powerhouse trio KÜKEN. Just like the two that preceded it, KÜKEN's new album is self-titled and in no mood to mess around. Only two of 11 songs make it to the two-minute mark as the boys tear through one track after another of ornery yet totally catchy three-chord punk rock. For those who always enjoyed the Kidnappers' punkier songs, KÜKEN III is like a whole album of that. If ripping '70s-style buzz-saw punk with a fuck-off attitude is your thing, songs like "Run Away from Me," "Goatleather," "I Don't Care About You," and "Roses" will warm your soul this holiday season. (Josh Rutlegde)

Tremendo Garaje (ES) DEC 2023 First of all, I apologize for not having paid more attention to a band like KÜKEN before, a three-piece with at least 10 years on the road that sounds so insanely cool and essential, but certainly if ever they had to star in our channel, what better than with their third full-length on the always accurate Alien Snatch Records... What an absolutely must-have album! It's been a long time since an album surprised me so much at first listen... What a three-piece, it doesn't suit them to be from Hamburg, and nobody should take this in a pejorative way, you know German scene is one of our fundamental foundations, but when you hit "Play" you will prove me right, first cause you will need no more than 10 seconds to fall in their clutches, I have always said that "crush" is the only true love, and this album proves me right again, and secondly because this super-muscular KBD power-pop-punk made of fabulous garage-rock riffs that will blow the minds of the "old school" fanatics, seems to have much more to do with the decade and the place referred to in their album cover's graffiti "New York 1973", than with anything else, both in the power of their "first wave" vibes and in their insane melodic conception with a certain Ramonian touch! Anyway... An indispensable gem to close a year that never ceases to amaze us! (Jose) credits released December 23, 2023