Kissing Cousins creates a sound that is simultaneously beautiful and bruising. It is anchored by Heather Bray Heywood's breathy, ethereal vocals, which float like a mist over a landscape of jagged, noisy guitars and heavy, stomping percussion. The music carries the weight of the American South, filtered through the lens of the Los Angeles indie scene, resulting in a 'Southern Gothic' aesthetic that feels both ancient and modern.
What truly sets them apart is the tension between their sweet, melodic sensibilities and their experimental, almost aggressive production choices. You will hear autoharps fed through delay pedals to create shimmering walls of sound, and drum machines pushed through distorted amplifiers to give them a visceral, human grit. It is music that explores the darker corners of the female experience with a sharp, uncompromising edge.
Start with the 'Unfortunate End' EP to hear the band at their most potent and experimental. It perfectly captures their ability to weave complex, narrative-driven songs into a framework of heavy, atmospheric rock that rewards deep, focused listening.
Shares mysterious, brooding, haunting (moods); reverb heavy, noise textured, analog warmth (production style)
Shares lo fi, noise textured, reverb heavy (production style); breathy, ethereal, intense (vocal style)
Shares indie rock, art rock, shoegaze (subgenres); layered dense, reverb heavy, noise textured (production style)
Shares lo fi, noise textured, analog warmth (production style); haunting, brooding, tense (moods)
Shares lo fi, analog warmth, reverb heavy (production style); garage rock, indie rock, art rock (subgenres)
Shares lo fi, reverb heavy, noise textured (production style); brooding, mysterious, tense (moods)
Shares reverb heavy, analog warmth, layered dense (production style); indie rock, art rock, shoegaze (subgenres)
Shares reverb heavy, lo fi, noise textured (production style); indie rock, art rock, garage rock (subgenres)
Shares reverb heavy, lo fi, noise textured (production style); indie rock, art rock, shoegaze (subgenres)
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