Based on the opening seconds of almost every song on Killing Time, it would be safe to assume that Terry Malts are a hardcore-leaning punk band. "Nauseous" is a battering ram in the middle of the album that opens with a set of fuzzed-out power chords and crashing percussion. The guitar solo aims for the rafters while kinetic energy builds for the song's full three minutes. But despite their belligerence, Terry Malts never scream. Actually, throughout the record, frontman Phil Benson's voice rarely shifts out of "croon." The vocals make sense considering all three members are also in the ranks of Magic Bullets, a band where Benson's singing owed quite a bit to Morrissey and Robert Smith. And throughout Killing Time, the Bay Area trio explores that balance between their aggressive delivery and their melodic, relatively reserved vocals. So while Benson establishes a toned down version of his post-punk pout from Magic Bullets, everything else launches straight from the punk rock gut.
Their wall of fuzz is the key to Killing Time's success: It's the equalizer between vanilla singsong and raucous house party. And most of the credit for the ballsier end of the spectrum goes to guitarist Corey Cunningham, who rips. When he's not pumping out an absurdly dynamic guitar solo, he's churning through power chords or adding jagged fills. That's not to say that Benson and drummer Nathan Sweatt aren't pulling their weight, but instrumentally, Cunningham's guitar is the stand-out. Even on songs that swoon more than pummel, like "Tumble Down" and "No Good For You", he manages to push through a few excellent riffs.
The other end of that balancing act is important, though, as Benson's singing and the band's melodies keep Terry Malts from becoming a classic punk sound-alike. There are vocal hints of their post-punk allegiances in the verses of "I'm Neurotic", but songs like the gleeful "I Do" owe more to pop punk than Moz. That said, when their balance leans too hard in one direction or the other, things can get tedious. "Waiting Room" tones down the noise and puts Benson's voice up front, and it's one of the longest and most repetitive tracks.
And lyrically, these guys are pretty uneven. For the most part, they sing about love: On "Something About You", it's all on the table ("I just want to be with you"). And while the straightforward love songs never fail them, things get dicier with the weightier topics. The opening verse of "Nauseous" tackles religious acceptance ("I'm not trying to tell you how you should live your life/ So why then should I listen to you condemn me for mine?"), but it could be a commentary on any lifestyle. Universality works in their favor there, but "No Sir, I'm Not a Christian" doesn't dip into a gray area ("I don’t believe in a divine wisdom"), and its bold message doesn't wear well after multiple listens. The worst offender is "Mall Dreams", a jumpy, by-the-numbers attack on consumerism ("Who are you when all you do is consume?") that's anchored by a jokey chorus that's funny maybe once ("A zombie's still a zombie in J. Crew!").
Both Benson and Cunningham have made it clear that they started Terry Malts because they were tired of the comparatively clean Magic Bullets sound. "After years of over-thinking songs, we wanted to simplify and get to our inner Trogg," Benson said. With their harmonies and swooning vocals, they're never quite Troggs-level elemental, but these guys clearly know how to wail. So thank god they cranked that distortion up and dumbed the chord progressions down.
