Band: The King Blues
Release: Long Live The Struggle
Release Date: 02.07.2012
It feels a bit strange when you listen to an album and know full well that the band is now no more. The usual brainwaves like “hmm, where will they go next?” or “I wonder what this will sound like live” have to be dismissed, pronto. ‘Long Live The Struggle’ is the last recording that we’ll ever hear from The King Blues. No more tales of saving the world, the importance of punk rock and wanting to hang the landlord.
Just at a first glance, some song titles look a little helpless. It’s hard to tell whether the likes of ‘Wasted Words’, ‘Modern Life Has Let Me Down’ and ‘Tear Us Apart’ are symbolic of the social truth or cunning metaphors to do with the band’s split. The King Blues is known for their cross-genre sound and political words that ring like poetry from Jonny ‘Itch’ Foxx. ‘Long Live The Struggle’ is no different.
In fact, this probably sees the most diverse mixture of sounds. ‘We Are What We Own’ sees the classic acoustic strums from TKB, much like what was seen in their early work. Pondering questions are raised, “Why they can’t afford to keep the youth clubs, but they can afford to lock the youth up?” Rancid’s Tim Armstrong joins them in ‘Booted Out Of Hell.’ A collaboration that they must have been thrilled with, giving Rancid’s mention in ‘What If Punk Never Happened.’
The King Blues’ use of Ska is also something that has previously set them apart. Thankfully they’ve included some chilled groves in this final salute. ‘When The Revolution Comes’ has a jaunty reggae style beat, as does ‘Tear Us Apart’ with its sensitive words, “not even love can tear us apart.”
This album wouldn’t be complete without the politically inspired band speaking about the London riots. An event where the band was happy to divulge their thoughts over Twitter. Police instructions signal the start of ‘This Is My Home,’ proceeded by a phone conversation with Itch about coming home to find his “motor” on fire. A suitably slow track with a female vocal, it seems a little soft for the subject of the clashes, where more angst would have sent out a stronger message.
Itch gets his rap on for ‘We Are The Future,’ now seeming a little defeatist given their departure from making a difference in music. He spits before the chorus which in a live situation, it would be amazing to have everyone with their arms around each others shoulders doing a can-can style motion. A random dupstep drop then appears unexpectedly.
A similar scene is performed in ‘Can’t Bring Me Down’, which features Letlive’s Jason Butler. The screaming chorus, “you can’t bring me down” isn’t a million miles away from something Enter Shikari would produce, especially when paired with some electro hooks. ‘Wasted Words’ has the makings of a pop song. The warbling female voice gives an almost R&B impression. It feels weak in comparison to the rest of the record. These genre fusions come from far too many avenues. It’s as if they feel the need to win over more fans or experiment for the next release, which would’ve been more understandable if they were still together!
As much as this album does have its highlights, it’s mildly disappointing. It lacks a ‘goose bump’ track like ‘What If Punk Never Happened’ and ‘5 Bottles of Shampoo.’ If the band had not felt the need to prove themselves by dipping in and out of these genres, then they might have gone out with more of a bang.
7/10
Reviewer: Hayley Fox
