Review: Killer Tone Jones

Next up is the latest album from gothic garage punk misfits Killer Tone Jones entitled Electric.

Blending garage punk, hard-hitting blues and horror-soaked rock ’n’ roll, Killer Tone Jones continue to carve out their own wonderfully twisted world. Giving sonic pleasure to those obsessed with voodoo, horror and sci-fi, this is a band that sounds like they crawled out of a grindhouse cinema at 3am armed with fuzz pedals, vintage horror VHS tapes and a crate full of rock ’n’ roll records.

This is the fourth album released by Killer Tone Jones following the success of their debut Pure Blossom From A Bad Seed and 2024’s Death Ray Radio. However, Electric feels different from the outset. Recorded in just two days following a run of UK shows, the album captures the band in their rawest and most dangerous form.

As guitarist Steve Midwinter explains:

"We wanted to record the three-piece band in a raw rock ’n’ roll style. It has a mixture of influences but we wanted some of the feeling of early garage punk and late 60’s and early 70’s rock ’n’ roll. We focused on capturing the live vibe with these recordings."

That live energy absolutely pours from every second of this album.

Opening track Sharknado Apocalypse immediately drags you into the warped world of Killer Tone Jones. The creepy, engulfing surfer-esque intro gives way to the hushed “Sharknado” refrain before the whole thing erupts into chaos. This is like The Beach Boys jamming with The Addams Family. The song blisters along and the sheer number of twists, turns and layers becomes almost hypnotic.

Voodoo Love Queen blasts in with the band’s uniquely unhinged attack. There is a relaxed yet creepy approach here that recalls a modern Murderdolls or Wednesday 13, but with a far more playful edge. That playfulness is what makes Killer Tone Jones so captivating. Beneath the chaos is genuinely clever songwriting and a refusal to stick to the worn-out rules of conventional rock music.

Please Don’t Touch has an incredible groove. Imagine Rob Zombie with stronger pop sensibilities and you are somewhere close. This one grinds and grooves its way into your head immediately. The layered vocals almost become instruments themselves, wrapping around the riff perfectly. The retro guitar solo adds a playful energy and the whole song stretches genres until it becomes accessible to almost anyone. Rock, punk, horror, garage pop - somehow they make all of it work together seamlessly.

Crush The Bone crashes in before taking us on an amphetamine-fuelled ghost train ride. The trademark layers continue to build throughout the track, forcing repeat listens because every play reveals something new. The fast-paced vocals are spat out with restrained venom and by the second chorus you will absolutely be chanting “Crush the bone!” along with them.

The track also showcases the band’s ability to slow things down and let songs breathe rather than simply racing forward at breakneck speed. It feels like a genuine evolution in the band’s sound.

Roadkill arrives with a jagged, stop-start riff before the vocals rumble beneath the surface and explode forward to drive the track along. The drums are absolutely vital here, acting as a stabilising force amongst the chaos and giving the track real power and presence.

Then comes Godzilla Rock, which creeps in almost like a 1950’s country song before mutating into something unmistakably Killer Tone Jones. There are shades of Powerman 5000 here, but with a far creepier and more unsettling atmosphere. The near-whispered vocals create a hypnotic eeriness where you find yourself straining to hear every word.

The balance between the sweet retro guitar line and the dark, sinister vocal works perfectly and creates something genuinely special.

Dead Stick picks the pace back up before dropping into hypnotic vocals and crashing into a super catchy chorus refrain. The single-note guitar line almost acts as a second vocal throughout, weaving around the main melody in a way that feels genuinely inventive. The gradual fade-out is absolutely perfect too.

Formaldehyde begins with a creepy sample before the drums lock everything together with a pounding groove. The dual guitar line is anthemic and instantly memorable before the gothic vocal creeps in with restrained terror.

Again, that trademark Killer Tone Jones swagger is impossible to ignore. This is a standout track amongst standout tracks and showcases a band operating completely in sync. Relaxed, confident and effortlessly authentic.

Growl contains one of the best stuttering, swaggering guitar lines committed to tape in years. There is an almost New Orleans voodoo feel to this track. It sounds steeped in mythology and delivered like some terrible secret you were never supposed to hear. The chorus then arrives to pull everything together and remind you this is still a rock ’n’ roll song at heart.

A truly captivating performance.

The Model drives us into more straight-ahead gothic punk territory, albeit with Killer Tone Jones’ fingerprints all over it. The explosive pre-chorus must sound enormous live and gives the track an almost traditional punk rock energy.

Then comes Bad Barbie, which sounds like someone threw The Supersuckers, Carter USM and a haunted carnival into a blender. It is frantic, chaotic and completely addictive. The twisting vocal lines are beautifully complimented by rapid-fire, reverb-soaked guitars.

And because this is Killer Tone Jones, just when you think you know where the song is heading, they pull everything back and rebuild it from the ground up into something even more impressive.

Spiders opens with pounding drums and a ripsaw guitar line before stripping back into the familiar hush-toned vocal style. The melody here is ridiculously strong and will stay with you for days. What makes this track special is the restraint. The hooks are there, but they never overwhelm the atmosphere or the layers building beneath the surface.

The drumming throughout this track is phenomenal and gives the song a relentless momentum.

Knuckle Muscle brings enough swagger to make Mick Jagger jealous. The entire song swings and shakes with confidence. There is a feeling throughout the album that Killer Tone Jones know exactly what they are and are completely unafraid to lean into it.

The outro descends into a beautifully controlled chaos that sounds moments away from collapse before exiting with a huge shout-along refrain.

And then, somehow, the album closes with an absolutely inspired cover of Personal Jesus.

We love it when bands do not simply “cover” a song but completely reinvent it. Think Sid Vicious taking on My Way or Hendrix transforming All Along The Watchtower. Killer Tone Jones do exactly that here.

The track fits their style perfectly and the guitar solo sounds like Dimebag Darrell covering Chuck Berry after being locked in a haunted house for three days. It is bold, risky and brilliantly executed.

Electric is exactly what great rock ’n’ roll should be - dangerous, unpredictable, swaggering and completely alive. Killer Tone Jones have managed to create an album that feels rooted in the past while sounding unlike almost anything else around today. Garage punk, horror rock, gothic blues, voodoo grooves and sci-fi chaos all collide together into something uniquely theirs.

Most bands chase perfection. Killer Tone Jones chase atmosphere, feel and energy - and that is exactly why this album works so brilliantly.

A truly electrifying record from a band absolutely bursting with killer instinct.