Last year, the iconic indie label, Kill Rock Stars, celebrated its 30th anniversary with 63 tracks of label artists covering iconic past Kill Rock Stars signees’ songs. I wish I could say I was tracking this, but honestly, I just found out at the tail end of December when the band Team Dresch covered “St. Ides Heaven.” As a belated commemoration of their 30-year anniversary, I decided to turn the label spotlight onto Kill Rock Stars and some of my favorite artists on the label. 

In quick summation, Kill Rock Stars is an indie rock label based in both Portland, Ore., and Olympia, Wash. They’re most known for their riot grrrl and underground punk catalog, especially in the 90s and with artists such as Elliott Smith. But later on in their catalog, mainly in the aughts, they became relatively known for their epic experimental signees. 

As I said, I don’t think anyone can bring up Kill Rock Stars without talking about Elliott Smith. On paper, it might seem like his quiet acoustic guitar-and-vocals blend seems out of place with the other, more abrasive, acts on the roster, but he finds a way to make even the softest sounds somehow jarring and off-putting in a particularly heartbreaking way. From the stellar lyricism to the strange guitar hooks, I’d say that his self-titled album is one of the best in recent history.

riot grrrl band Bratmobile exemplifies the louder, more punk side of Kill Rock Stars. With their loud and yelled vocals, courtesy of Allison Wolfe, and the characteristic-of-the-scene lofi recording sound. Their album “Pottymouth” is the best example of this; it’s loud, aggressive, and profoundly sarcastic, the ideal riot grrrl album. 

Team Dresch is another riot grrrl band on the label, but one that errs more on the queercore side of punk. It gets a bit heavier than other signees at that time, with shouted vocals and dirtier guitar riffs on some tracks. “Personal Best,” their (haha) best album, is a collection of rage-filled melodic spirals and snarls set to a stream of consciousness lyrics. The album’s profoundly 90s at some points as well, sounding even power-pop-y on the track “She’s Amazing.” The lead vocalist may be my favorite part of this band – her harsh screams cut into what could be a fairly jangly guitar riff, setting off a huge and powerful chorus.

One of the most experimental bands on Kill Rock Stars’ roster, Xiu Xiu is super awesome. Led consistently by vocalist Jamie Stewart, they’ve been around for a while, and have bounced around labels a bit.  Xiu Xiu’s changed their sound a bit in their long run, changing from a lofi freak-folk approach to their later works: a blend of more electronic influences. One of the standout things I’d note about Xiu Xiu would be the haunting vocals. Stewart has a unique, treble-soaked tone that goes perfectly with the eerie backdrop in most of their music. I would say though, their music does range from eerie, like on “Fabulous Muscles” to disorienting and terrifying on albums like “Girl With Basket of Fruit.”

The post-hardcore Olympia band Unwound is another Kill Rock Stars signee. They’ve been tied to Kill Rock Stars since (almost) the beginning, and dissolved in 2002. My favorite album by them, “Leaves Turn Inside You,” is a pummeling flurry of motion interspersed with moody interludes – almost drawing comparisons to a skramz-y format. The album contrasts with their earlier work “Repetitions,” drawing the line between emotional confession and shouted catharsis. If we look at the artists on the roster and the compilations released, Unwound is really the ethos of Kill Rock Stars.

Looking at their catalog, these artists are the ones that seem most emblematic of Kill Rock Stars. There are definitely newer artists that are more active still on the label, but their golden age was totally the nineties. Like all the best labels, a sampler of Kill Rock Stars is also a slice of the Pacific Northwest punk scene, and an awesome one at that.