King Loser, You Cannot Kill What Does Not Live (side A)

On cursory listen, New Zealand's King Loser appears almost accessible, with driving rock songs in somewhat conventional structures. Somehow, though, everything is far enough off to leave them firmly in the world of strange. From Chris Heazlewood's unfriendly vocals to the often murky recordings (including the "better" recordings by Tex Houston), the whole record feels as menacing as welcoming. You Cannot Kill What Does Not Live (their second, from 1995) is my favorite King Loser, with a diverse range of pounding instrumentals (that vaguely reference the Dead C) and catchier songs ("76 Comeback" is particularly memorable). There's even a fairly "straight" cover of "Morning Dew".