THE KING BLUES, never heard of them? Welcome to the club.
I wasn't familiar with the band either until their new album arrived at my home and was highly recommended to me.
“Punk & Poetry“ is the third album by the six-member band from London. The cover already looks friendly with a street punk vibe and a dark twist. So let's listen to the twelve songs.
What’s this? Hip Hop is coming out of the speakers. Mmmh, so this is highly recommended to me? Should I, in my old age, find this sound appealing, which has always seemed a bit suspicious to me because it’s too stereotypical and too posy? The first track is short, and then comes a song that could be the next soundtrack for the revolutionary May 1st demo in Kreuzberg. The title is “We are fucking angry“. A song that perfectly blends Hip Hop, Hardcore, and Streetpunk. The video fits the lyrics perfectly. You can watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJu647r7MXE
Lyrics like “This is classwar, this is classwar“ stick with you after the first listen and make you think of the last cobblestone throw. For me, it’s the best song on the album. Just this song alone is worth the purchase of the CD. It’s by no means an aggressive song; rather, it sincerely shows how angry the band and large parts of the population are with the politics. THE KING BLUES from England are no different from us. Everywhere, those in power do everything to maintain their control, and the population has to work under increasingly poor conditions for too little money and can be glad if they have a job and a cold hole that is generally called an apartment. After that, the band follows up with “We set the world on fire“, a softer song. It sounds very much like Buster Shuffle in the first few seconds, but then come the choirs, and the thought quickly fades away.
However, the six-piece is not satisfied with their own very good mix of Hip Hop, Streetpunk, and Hardcore. In the subsequent songs, you can also hear Reggae, Ska, and Pop. The fluffy “I want you“ is quite flowery compared to the previous songs. The following “Bottles of Shampoo“ is bluesy and romantic. Before it gets cheesy, we have
with “Sex Education“ a top-notch dancefloor smasher, which will probably get a good push just because of the word “Sex“. It’s also too sweet how the girls in the band whisper “Sex, Sex, Sex“ in the background. You immediately want to know what else they can teach you.
With “Shooting Fascists“, the band even brings a singer/songwriter number. If the promo sheet is to be believed, the band fills 2000s halls in the UK.
Pretty radical for the masses!
With song number eleven, the band asks “Does anybody care (about us?)“, and even though pop rock carries the song, it is still a political, socially critical song.
THE KING BLUES bring together so many styles on “Punk & Poetry“ that you almost have to wonder how they do it. They can do everything. Completely crazy.
Moreover, they have lyrics that are thought-provoking. Perhaps the band manages to bring subcultures and different social classes together to make a change together. It’s about time!
THE KING BLUES are touring in the fall with Broilers. Check them out!
