The King Blues

Alright all,

Now I know it’s been a while since I’ve given you an up date and it’s been for a lot of reasons but mainly uni work. And I know what your thinking that I’ve missed some fantastic releases including the likes of Dropkick Murpheys’ Going Out In Style and the sensation from Rise Against that is Endgame. But I couldn’t think of a time better to get back into the swing of things.

So I remember it was around Feb/March two years ago and King Blues where getting hype from everyone and had seen the advert for the album in every magazine I read, so thought I should check them out. I was hypnotized the first time I ever heard Mr Music Man and had to get an album. The album that I got was Save The World, Get The Girl and it was a big moment like the first time I heard In Love And Death and when I was 15 that was a big thing.

So it was inevitable that I was going to get the first album, which was just as exceptionable and by this time I was hooked. From then I read, watched and listened to every interview, the more I learned, the more I liked. Then came along the singles Holiday and Headbutt, what more did I need to start drawling at the thought of a new album.

Come November and the talk had begun about the new album. Just around Christmas Mike Davies interviewed Itch and he spoke about the album and gave the low down on how it was still to be King Blues but heavier and angrier which just sounded amazing.

On Janyary 27th We are Fucking Angry was available for free download, 12 days later Mike Davies airs Set The World On Fire. By this time I’m bursting for the release of Punk and Poetry, April 18th couldn’t come soon enough.

One week to go and the count down had begun. Mike Davies had Itch on the show and The Future Is Not What it Used To Be and Five Bottles Of Shampoo was aired for the first time. By this point I was looking for anything to do with the band so when I saw Itch perform Five Bottles Of Shampoo as a poem (below) and an album sample (below) Monday couldn’t come sooner so when it came first thing I did was go done HMV and the rest was history.





The King Blues – Punk and Poetry

Since the release of Save The World, Get The Girl back in 2008 the King Blues world has changed drastically, from Mike ‘Fruitbag’ Payne leaving and the complete backup band changing to both Jonny ‘Itch’ Fox and Jamie Jazz both becoming fathers.

The band had gone into the studio thinking that they had done political albums and they wanted to do something closer to home. But with this new government, the band couldn’t sit back and not say or do something. Don’t get me wrong there are songs about their lives for example the final track on the album, Everything Happens For A Reason is all about Itch meeting his girlfriend, falling in love and becoming a father.

Although lives are happy The King Blues as a unit clearly aren’t happy with this world. After intro track Last Of The Dreamers a track that lets you know that is for the people, the album explodes into action with the fierce song We Are Fucking Album, before moving onto Set The World On Fire, which both are phenomenal tunes.

As the album moves on, it covers a variety of different topics including; the way in which we have darkened the future with the world we’ve built (The Future’s Not What It Used To Be), the way men treat woman and respect for them (Five Bottles of Shampoo) and the BNP and how their grandfathers would have never been out voting for fascists but shooting them (Shooting Fascists).

In all this is an amazing album. The great thing about this album is that it is actually something to riot about. This is an album that is all about now and what is going on in this world at this moment.

Since the days of Under The Fog with every new release The King Blues just exceeded themselves and evolved their sound. On Punk And Poetry you see them not only making punk rock songs the likes of We Are Fucking Angry and Shooting Fascists, they are pop sons like Set The World On Fire, The Future’s Not What It Used To Be and Headbutt which are contagiously catchy. Also in The Future’s Not What It Used To Be the group bring the sound of DnB to the table. And if that wasn’t enough the exceptional poem Five Bottles Of Shampoo which could be the best track on the album.

Apart from being on 35 minutes long, a bad word cannot be spoke about this album. These album only leaves you craving another hit, the twelve songs on the album may seem short but each one could be a possible single. For King Blues this album only opens up another door to the start on a ne journey as they are one of the best bands around at the moment and if they carry on the way they are they could be one day the best.

5/5

Cheapdog