Kinski is (l-r) Chris Martin, Lucy Atkinson, Barrett Wilke, Matthew Reid-Schwartz, through a glass, darkly.

Kinski is (l-r) Chris Martin, Lucy Atkinson, Barrett Wilke, Matthew Reid-Schwartz, through a glass, darkly. SHANE WILLIAMS

Seattle rock mainstays Kinski started up in 1998. Their new album, 7 (or 8), released on June 2 via Kill Rock Stars, represents the culmination of a catalog that started in deep space (see past albums SpaceLaunch for Frenchie, Be Gentle with the Warm Turtle, and Airs Above Your Station) before gradually descending closer to terra firma. They’ve been muscling up the riffs, getting more linear with their songwriting, and veering away from their astral and jammy inclinations.

One of their most concise full-lengths, 7 (or 8) gets to the fucking point…

Dave Segal is a journalist and DJ living in Seattle. He has been writing about music since 1983. His stuff has appeared in Gale Research’s literary criticism series of reference books, Creem (when...