Miami New Times – by Greg Baker
“A musical chaos perfectly suited to a group that can light up things with urgent funkiness (the brilliant "Changed My Life"), barroom innuendo ("Sloppy Love"), or unpretentious intelligence (the Jaco Pastorious - inspired "Breather").
God’s of Music - by Darren Powless
“What
an awesome interesting band, it's really refreshing to find a group that has
such a diverse mix of sounds and uses them so effectively. Strange and alluring,
I find myself like a confused puppy, my head is turned sideways, ears forward,
trying to figure out just exactly what I am listening to. Every time it starts
over I hear new sounds that I didn’t catch the first four times through, all I
can say is wowzers.
The lead singer reminds me of some early Bowie. He has a tone that completely
fits this up-tempo, jump up and down without a care in the world, song. The rest
of the band is completely in tune with each other in the sense that they must
have made this for a reason and knew what this song was going to be (what I am
getting at is they are tight). The tempo stop at 2:02 and drop at 2:07 is
another fascinating turn of events. I believe they stay in the same key but it
sounds like a different key: Tricky to get a hold of. I, like any other animal
at or near the top of the food chain, like to chase things and trying to keep up
with this song is fun.
Other than the drums being a tad too low in my opinion, the mix is good. I can't
really say too much about the technical side of this because these guys use so
many different sounds. Any band that says they play "all types" of music haven't
tried this and would have a complete nightmare trying to cover "Changed My
Life".
I can see these guys jumping all around the stage playing this fun music. It
seems almost childish because I think I've heard some of the sounds on Pee Wee's
Playhouse™ before. Really great song guys; pump out some more of this and you'll
get an audience who enjoys being totally confused by a band's sound. But sadly,
we all have to return to reality: man I was just starting to have fun”!
PreAmp Music – by Jill Tobrowski
“Ska is my kind of thing. It's the music that sends chills of happiness up my spine. I would like to be the first to admit that I have been into ska for the past five years, not a very long time I grant you. I was turned on to it by a friend, and found myself a much more delightful person for it. The horns, the punchy beat...you can't go wrong. Having said that, I was excited to be reviewing my first ska CD.
The Kind definitely hooked me. The first three songs on the CD were phenomenal. "Change My Life" was straight up ska, "Twister" was almost Peter Gunn-ish and "Sloppy Love" had a Stevie Wonder feel to it (plus, you can't beat that title). Certainly, there are other notable tracks on the CD, these were just my favorites. If you get a chance check these guys out live, their energy level is off the scale”!
CityLink – by Jake Cline
“In the upcoming week, one of Miami’s finest local bands, “The Kind” will release its debut CD at Tobacco Road in Miami, FL. The island influenced quintet will unleash “Plant the Seed”, an inspired recording of rock n’ roll, ska, reggae and R & B.
Fronted by singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard Lebos and bass player Leo Nobre, the Kind definitely handles a number of stylistic twist and turns with the ska opener “Changed My Life”, the brief punky “Twister”, the hard rocking instrumental “Twister”, and the stoned country ballad “I Tried.” The band is backed by the “Do Be Cautious Horns” (trumpet, alto sax and baritone sax), and several guest percussionist throughout, allowing the CD a rich, organic, and at times psychedelic feel”.
All Music Guide – by Bradley Torreano
“The Kind is one of the few bands that genuinely sound like they have fun performing up-tempo songs together. Compared to the forced, obnoxious "fun" bands that often make it to the top of the pop charts, this is a welcome change of pace. With a sound based in the Chili Peppers' funk jams, but evened out with a healthy dose of Frank Zappa guitar, the Kind makes very party-friendly music. Few of the songs truly stick out, which does tend to blur the effect the album has after listening to it. But there are still some tracks, like "Just What It Is," which have infectious hooks to keep them from escaping the listener's brain. Also a huge benefit to this music is the lyrics, which are no where near as smarmy and goofy as the genre often suggests. The band offers a high quality mix of funky rock music that should be enjoyed by fans of funky, good-time rock music”.
Miami New Times – by Todd Anthony
“A storm of controversy swirls around the new 'Cane Records compilation CD, Miami Hybridized, which is scheduled for an August 30 release. The disc -- the second from the fledgling label run by University of Miami students -- showcases five local artists: rappers 5th Gear, vocalist Carla Hall, straight-ahead rocker Cheryl Hill, anarchy-rockers the Jongleurs, and funkmeisters the Kind. Each contributed two tracks.
But three of the Hybridized participants have slammed the 'Cane project, blaming the label for amateurish sound quality. According to Richard Lebos, guitarist for the Kind, both of his band's entries "sound horrible. The level of the entire recording is low and muffled." Lebos suspects foulups during the original recording of the songs, and accuses 'Cane of compounding the problem in the mixing stage by piling on cheesy effects. Lebos's band recently hired an attorney to try to block the CD's release, or at the very least to drop the Kind's songs from the project.
"They ['Cane] seemed really cool to start out," relays Jongleurs drummer Eric Hastings. "The rough mixes sounded good. But the final mixes sounded terrible. Bland. The levels are really low. Nothing stands out. And both songs are just bathed in effects. I got the feeling they were like kids in a candy store with all the studio effects."
The Kind's vehemence puzzles 'Cane Records producer Eric Alexandrakis, who mixed the band's tunes and who has only kind words for the funksters. "I really like what they do, and I think the new mixes of their stuff sound great, Alexandrakis says. "We had some little engineering problems at first -- even I wasn't very happy -- but we went back and redid the guitars and now I think it sounds really ballsy. They'll be a lot better off with us than without us."
And if the bands don't share that opinion? "We did the best we can," the producer assesses. "But the decision's already been made to press the CD. They put it in our hands. They signed the paper. that's the real world."
That attitude does not sit well with Cheryl Hill. The vocalist echoes the Kind's complaints. "The whole thing was a fiasco," she sighs resignedly. "They called in studio musicians for me that couldn't cut it. They spent the least amount of time on the most important part -- recording the basic tracks -- and then said they would fix it all in the mix. They called me and told me they had to drop some background vocals from one song because they weren't sung in tune. As soon as I signed the contract, it was all downhill from there."
Alexandrakis adds that those contracts require participating bands to perform live at least three times to promote the project. The first of those performances will be the CD-release party August 30 at the Hard Rock Café in Miami, FL”.
“Variety, diversity, eclecticism are a few words that come to mind when listening to The Kind. At times provocative, riveting and vigorous their music will keep you focused. The changes that are traversed are often quick and unassuming, yet very interesting. The promise of an exciting future will have you coming back to see how this group has developed further in the unyielding realm of musical diverseness”.