Band: Speaking The Kings
Release: Here To Stay
Release Date: Out Now
Naming your debut EP ‘Here To Stay’ is somewhat of a bold statement, especially when you receive as many mixed reviews as Speaking The Kings seem to be at the moment. Some people have critized the band for replicating the sounds of bands such as A Day To Remember, but we say if you can pull of an album that sounds as good as ADTR then hats off to you.
Speaking the Kings may have been around for a few years but ‘Here To Stay’ brings their music out there and will fill your brain with a mixture of post hardcore beats and punk pop vocal elements. We will admit there isn’t much that’s overly new or massively out of the ordinary about this EP but that isn’t to say it’s bad at all.
From the brutal riffs to the gang shout outs and the vocals which don’t strain or waver throughout everything that’s done is done well. Opener ‘One Foot At A Time’ is the perfect example of what to expect from the whole EP from the fast paced drum beats, the softer vocals transcending into the darker realms of screams and just the right amount of breakdown. There is nothing we can fault!
From opener ‘One Foot At A Time’, to ‘How You Work’ which begins with a breakdown right through to heavier ‘Tearing Down The Walls’ transcending from a heavy raw breakdown to a bouncy chorus, every track on ‘Here To Stay’ will fill your head with familiarity. The sort of friendly familiarity where after the first listen you’ll feel like you know the band and their tracks and you won’t be able to stop the urge to throw your arms around in a crazied fit.
‘Here To Stay’ may be a bit forthcoming because Speaking The Kings will need to up their game on their second release. But for a summery pop punk record we’re happy to keep it on repeat and bang our heads along with the rest of them!
8/10
Reviewed by: Rhian Westbury
