The King Blues are a London band who are just beginning to get noticed here in the US. They’re well known in England and other parts of Europe, having played in many European countries steadily over the last few years.
The King Blues blend elements of ska, punk and even some hard core and rap into their songs, bringing a very diverse and unique sound. Their recent album, Punk & Poetry, released April 2011, does not disappoint.
Johnny Fox, who goes by the stage name Itch, writes very prolific lyrics that rivals the best poets from the turbulent sixties including Bob Dylan. The music and lyrics in Punk & Poetry not only makes one stop and think about the state of the world, but also to rise up and do something about it.
The catchiest songs on the album are ‘The Future’s Not What It Used To Be‘ and ‘Set the World On Fire‘ (videos for both are also below). The former contains lyrics about the causes of war (religion, race, debt and even to save face) while intermittently throwing in the chorus of, ‘whoa the future’s not what it used to be, so would the last one out please turn out the lights.’
In the song ‘Set the World On Fire,’ Itch screams, ‘this is how we use the greatest minds in science, not a cure for cancer, but a profit for giants. They blind the clients with advertisements,’ before breaking into the chorus of. ‘Fire! Fire! I wanta set the world on fire!’
Although some of the songs get an explicit rating from i-Tunes, The King Blues songs are not just about sex for the sake of singing about sex that predominates much of popular music these days. In the song ‘Sex Education,’ they sing about teens’ overall ignorance about sex and how that leads to their becoming victims of sex crimes, but the message is that perhaps educating teens might prevent most of those crimes.
The songs on Punk & Poetry are danceable and many are easy to sing along to. But most of all, this band has a message to bring to youth. They don’t sing the banal love songs that have dominated popular music since its infancy. They reveal the wrongs in society without being preachy. They encourage their listeners to wake up and stand up. They are encouraging their listeners to be active participants to bring about change and to right the wrongs.
The King Blues are a band that needs to be heard everywhere. Recently some of their songs have been picked up on college radio station KGRG just south of Seattle. The songs on ‘Punk & Poetry’ are invigorating and intelligent.
While so much of what’s played on commercial radio now is designed to anaesthetize, it is refreshing to hear a band bring more serious issues to light and encourage listeners to bring about change instead of allowing our brains to be turned to mush. ‘Punk & Poetry’ is a must have for not only punk/ska fans, but anyone looking for music with an IQ.
http://youtu.be/WD5RBy7gvjw
And here’s “The Last of the Dreamers” performed a capella on a street corner:
