Road To Kansas – The Contract With The Ghosts

Album cover

Summary

  • ‘Debut album release on Engineer Records. (Two previous EPs ‘So what’s your achievement? and ‘We’re All On Your Side’.)
  • Recorded at SU2-Studios in Germany and mastered by Troy Glessner at Spectre Studios (Underoath, Aiden, Haste The Day, August Burns Red).
  • ‘Shared the stage with Waterdown, Death Before Disco, Parachutes, Days In Grief, Crash My Deville, Cataract, Narziss and Therapy?’

Track Listing

  1. You Are Sex, But We Are The City
  2. The Right Hand of Justice (lost the thumb)
  3. Dynamite-Man
  4. Penguins Never Sleep
  5. The Contract With The Ghosts (read first)
  6. A Rock In The Sea
  7. Bears Are Eating Bulls
  8. Cheers For A Life That Could Have Been
  9. Trials Of A Rebel
  10. Liars, TV and Idols
  11. The Contract With The Ghosts (sign here)

About this Release

Since thier inception, Road To Kansas have worked hard on developing a routine to make any blue-collar band proud. They gain fans every step of the way, celebrating a hardcore style reminiscent of Waterdown and Grade. Their well-earned attitude as a band is what keeps die-hard fans listening to RTK. Now with an 11-track full-release to stand behind, there’s nothing more than a wide road ahead of the foundation they’ve built already.

• ‘A successful balancing act between charm and pioneering anger’. (STARDUST).
• ‘You don’t always have to look overseas to find a good band’.(VISIONS).
• ‘For sure, you’re gonna hear a lot more from this band!’ (FUZE).
• ‘Gorgeous melodius-parts mixed with brutal screamo-parts, a very incisive voice and a rather rough production’. (OX-FANZINE).

Reviews

Revolution Music

Emo with an edge of punk mixed with Screamo-elements? Is it for you, if so then you should probably read on.

Road to Kansas play emopunk which can not be done much better in many places in the world. They draw from the country with the charming “You Are Sex, But We Are The City” which captures the listener immediately and slams into your head. It’s classic modern emopunk with a hint of 90s emo – but without too much whining and eyeliner. Heavy guitars mixed with a screaming vocals that do not recycle many tones or phrases

The various songs on the album hangs together well.
Breakdowns are never tedious or boring, as the band does it with charm and ferocity. It is heard clearly on “Dynamite-Man” where the intro plays up to lead singer crisp vocals, which understated the heavy distortion and malice from second guitarist. “Vi er, vi er, standing at your door” is the catchy chorus, which rounds the disc best song off. Not very advanced but it works incredibly well and delicious.

3 out of 6

http://www.revolution-music.dk/anm.php?alid=3545

Hide

A Short Fanzine About Rocking

ROAD TO KANSAS – ‘The Contract With The Ghosts’ (Engineer) Reviewed by JESSICA.

Over the course of this album, Road To Kansas somehow manage to remind me of both Chiodos and The Blackout – not the most obvious of combinations. ‘You Are The Sex But We Are The City’ pedals the sort of catchy post-hardcore popularised by The Blackout, but elsewhere (‘Penguins Never Sleep,’ ‘Bears Are Eating Bulls’) the theatrical flourish, elaborate song titles and the squealy edge to frontman Marco Kallenborn’s voice had me convinced they were about to launch into a ‘Bone Palace Ballet’ cover. A difficult band to categorise, Road To Kansas have a talent for dolling out just enough hooks to win over the casual listener, even while they’re scratching their head trying to put Road To Kansas into a neat little box. On the down side, ‘The Contract……’ feels a little lyrically thin on the ground, and the band have a nasty habit of indulging in mid-song instrumental interludes that detract from the taunt, sassy energy that otherwise characterises this album. If you have a penchant for vaguely theatrical, catchy post-hardcore, or are a fan of The Blackout or Chiodos, then you should give ‘You Are The Sex…..,’ the bristling metalcore of ‘Penguins Never Sleep’ (which deserves a listen for the title alone) and the big-chorused ‘Cheers For A Life, That Could Have Been,’ a spin.

http://ashortfanzineaboutrocking.tumblr.com

Hide

Rockstorm (Czech)

Another great discovery on the label Engineer Records are German band ‘Road to Kansas’, who after two EPs on other labels have released their first full length CD now. The albums content is 12 tracks, 39:28 minutes in duration. The sound is in the spirit of melodic punk and emo – melodic hardcore and screamo. Two songs of which are very melodic and the others are more hard / jarring. The music has been conceived at a rather fast and dynamic pace, and will not let you stop. Since the bands inception in 2004 Road to Kansas have played several tens to hundreds of concerts in Germany and abroad and appeared on stage with renowned groups such as Waterdown, Death Before Disco, Parachutes, Days In Grief, Crash My Deville , Cataract and Narziss. The style of these groups reflects the focus of Road to Kansas. It’s a good album!

http://magazin.radiobrod.cz/road-kansas-contract-ghosts 

Hide

StageDiving (Italy)

So we begin 2011 with a promising disc – “The Contract with the Ghosts” from The Road to Kansas on Engineer Records. It comes from Germany, the homeland of a bunch of beautiful groups that compose a scene that we dream of for ourselves. The record is kind of post-hardcore with emo and two leading voices, cleaned and shouting. Maybe like Underoath and Thursday. The songs are beautiful, very well arranged, and the guitars are full bodied. All the instrumental sections seem very studied. The artwork is good too and the style of the cover reminds me of “Exile in Oblivion” by Strung Out. In conclusion this is a good disc for the fans of emocore and a good new discovery.

http://www.stagedivingwebzine.com/products/road-to-kansas

Hide

Post a review

Back to releases