King Music

King Louis XVI of France

I sold merchandise for King Krule at his sold out show at Bowery Ballroom.  I picked up the shift thinking I had this guy’s music on my iPhone, when it was actually King Tuff.  There are so many musicians calling themselves King nowadays that I can’t keep track anymore.  Here’s a handful of the ones on my radar:

King Krule

King Krule via last.fm

 King Krule is the alias of London’s 19-year-old Archy Marshall.  He totally looks like an Archy, doesn’t he? Some people just look like a particular name. I was shocked that the deep snarling voice I was listening to belonged to this seemingly innocent bony red haired boy.  At first, King Krule’s music sounded like a mid-30s bloke who had too much to drink and was shouting angry nonsense at the world.

Then I listened again.  With the help of a Spotify lyric app, Krule’s thick accented words were deciphered and I realized that this nonsense was actually surprisingly profound poetry. He delves into the banal trivialities of life with a cynical, and sometimes, romantic point of view.  In “The Noose of Jah City” he wails, “I question why.”  It is beautiful and haunting; it kind of punches me in the gut.  On his new album 6 Feet Beneath the Moon, Krule experiments with different sounds and genres.  One song will be straight up electric guitar rock while the next song will feature a full jazz band.

King Tuff

King Tuff via Sub Pop

King Tuff is playful garage rock tunes from musician Kyle Thomas.  His music is pretty straightforward and has a distinct classic punk I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude.  Tuff sings about being alone and stoned (“Alone and Stoned”), being a bad, bad thing (“Bad Thing”), and that once someone told him to break the rules (“Baby Just Break”).  He does have that nasally whining voice that I find annoying and can only take small doses of.  However, most of his hooks are good enough for me to forget about the tone.  Then I’m left with the feeling that I want to carelessly jump around like I just don’t give a fuck.

King Khan

King Khan via Wikipedia

King Khan is the moniker of Canadian musician Arish Ahmad Khan. He is the frontman of a couple bands: King Khan and the Shrines and The King Khan & BBQ Show. Khan’s music is rock, psychedelic, funk, and big band with a little old school type James Brown thrown in.  The sound is lively, uplifting, and feel good.  I imagine his live shows are a chaotic dancing blast.

King Holiday

King Holiday via Facebook

King Holiday is a good old fashioned big band in the 21st century.  They are literally a big band boasting eleven members in total – drums, guitar, bass, keyboard, 3 person horn section, 2 female backup vocalists, and 1 charismatic lead singer.  They emit big funk soul rock sounds, and when they play a show, the whole room gets involved.   I wish they had more music for me to listen to.