Having met as teenagers touring the late-‘90s North American post-punk scene, guitarist/vocalist Sean Madigan Hoen and drummer Dan Jaquint established an ongoing musical collaboration that for years remained a mostly-private endeavor relegated to cassette-only releases. After living together in Brooklyn, the duo found themselves returning to their home state of Michigan in 2018 where they reconnected with Detroit’s music scene and formed KIND BEAST.

Taking its name from the writing of Carl Jung, KIND BEAST is at once a distillation of several decades of electric guitar music and a lyrical exploration of shadow themes and deep-psyche excavation. Described by NPR affiliate WDET as “perfect for late-night freedom cruising on the outskirts of town,” the music is sophisticated and nocturnal, metabolizing ‘70s arena rock and Krautrock as readily as the post-Fugazi cannon on which its members were raised. What commences is a vast blend of rock swagger infused with a distinctly-Detroit eeriness, set to Hoen’s imagistic lyrics.

Joining Hoen and Jaquint are bassist Sean Bondareff (known for a fifteen-year stint with Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels) and guitarist Martin Rodgers, fifteen years younger than the other members and who has made a name for himself as one of Detroit’s most talented guitarists. KIND BEAST pays little homage to Hoen and Jaquint’s teenage bands (Thoughts of Ionesco and Small Brown Bike, respectively) and finds itself most often compared to mature constituents of the rock/pop pantheon such as Arctic Monkeys, Spoon, and Queens of the Stone Age while discerning listeners pinpoint a deeper influence of the great indie labels of yore (Touch and Go; Dischord).

The band self-released an EP and an album titled You Know I Used To Dance. After a series of headlining shows in Detroit, KIND BEAST has opened for a versatile array of national indie and post-punk acts. 2023 will see the release of their second album Dirty Realism and an East Coast tour. The lead single “Highway Madness” was released on 4/27/23.


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