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 I love The King Blues 

Save the World - Get the Girl
Album Review
 By Claire


The King Blues have a refreshing new sound which is an eccentric mix of the R’n’B and indie pop genres. It really opened my eyes and made me giggle!

My favourite songs are ‘I got love’, ‘Underneath this lamppost light’, ‘Save the world, get the girl’, ‘Let’s hang the landlord’, ‘Out of luck’ and ‘What if punk never happened’. I realise that this is seven out of the 11 songs on the album, but they’re all so great!

I really like ‘I got love’ because it has empowering lyrics set to a funky beat and melody. It lets youth know some vital messages that are not always clear to everyone – like the fact that “We are one people/We are equal/You are wonderful and rare”. Too often nowadays people forget that we are all linked and that everything we do, no matter how small, has an effect on those around us.

‘Underneath this lamppost light’ is another of my faves because the lyrics and deeply meaningful and full of sentiment, but still have down-to-earth earth comments, such as the line “I know it stinks of piss but/You look beautiful tonight’. When I first heard this song it simultaneously warmed me and brought tears to my eyes. I love it!

‘Save the world, get the girl’ is controversial, yet humorously true. The lines “I believe in the people of America/But I still can’t believe The Terminator’s the Governor/As the soldiers prepare for combat/Smile and ask ‘Do you want freedom fries with that?’/We put the oops back in troops now it seems so absurd/And going to war to prevent war is the most stupid thing I ever heard” highlight the ridiculousness of some recent political blunders mixed in with witty observations from our modern, selfish world.

‘Let’s hang the landlord’ is a fast, upbeat song which contrasts the slightly depressing lyrics. The track is about the lives of the poor and the homeless told from a personal perspective; this emphasises how bad it is for people with no money or homes, and makes you think about how lucky and ungrateful you are.

‘Out of luck’ is a quiet song sung with a guitar and piano accompanying, with a drum coming in at the end of the first chorus. This song is a soppy love song made more hip by the melody and beat. The lyrics “Without a penny, in my pocket/I'm out of luck in this kind of town/But I've got you right by my side/So I won't let them drag me down” highlight how despite the bad things that can happen to anyone, you have to keep your spirits high and your head held up. I now have this song stuck in my head!

Finally, ‘What if punk never happened’ is the longest track on the album, but one of my top three. Johnny ‘Itch’ Fox is just speaking for the first twelve lines, after which a plain drum beat and simple chords enter. This song is very simplistic yet strongly emphasises how much our world is changed by something such as a genre of music.

Overall, after listening to this album I love The King Blues with their hip but down-to-earth approach to music and lyrics.
www.kingblues.net