LA trio do something a little special
There are those that tell us that the album format is dead. That kids these days are so obsessed with Spotify playlists and streaming that they don’t have the patience for a full experience.
Yeah, we know that this is rubbish, and it’s a good thing that no one told Kyng, as there are no fewer than 14 songs on this, their third record.
Maybe it’s because as main man Eddie Veliz (vocals, guitar) put it a couple of years back, the band was his “last hurrah” that there is a devil may care, nothing to lose attitude about Kyng. There is a feeling that “Breathe In The Water” is nothing more and nothing less than the record they wanted to make.
Modern classic rock, if you will, is the feeling that abounds here, bluesy, powerful riffs are all over it, but this is not some exercise in retro beard stroking. Instead, the title track (which kicks things off) does so with an urgency, a vitality, a thrilling riff and a kind of QOTSA strut.
There’s a thunderous rumble about this, but also a deftness of touch too, which sets apart “Closer To The End” and the like apart, “Follow Blindly” offers a grungy feel too – it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to imagine latter day AIC doing this.
Sometimes too, they offer a full on psych side to themselves. “Show Me Your Love” has its eyes on an afternoon in the hammock and doesn’t intend moving far, while “The Dead”, with its phenomenal chorus is further evidence of their versatility and “Bipolar Schemes” is reminiscent of Soundgarden at their best.
Maybe it’s the amount of songs on here, maybe it’s the ideas that clearly flow through the band, but no two songs here are the same. “Hide From You” is a polished slice of brooding for example, while “Song For A Broken Masque” is infused with a lighter touch , but still manages to rock like a chimp in a safari park, and just when you begin to think there can be no more twists and turns, along comes the chugging gallop of “The Battle Of Saint”.
Helpfully, though they manage to tie it all up by the end. “Not Enough” is the kind of radio friendly song we began with, and it is one that suggests that they know their know way around the Led Zep back catalogue while they are at it.
Hard rock, yeah, but clever hard rock with a twist, “Breathe In The Water” that is expertly conceived and one which shows why they have been able to comfortably share stages with artists as diverse as Seether and Clutch (with whom, in Machine, they share a producer). Indeed, for Kyng, it might be a crowning glory.
Rating 8/10
