Review By Fraser Allen

When new projects emerge, gathering members of existing bands into a new whole, we can only hope that the sum of the parts will be greater than that whole and in this case Canadian ‘super-group’ King Thief have spent the last five years honing their sound, crafting this album and have accomplished just that. Hailing from Edmonton, a place apparently known for its unique take on aggressive, music, King Thief bring us their debut album.
There is still a raw post hard-core punk energy to their music but gone are some of the more youthful sounds of the band members’ former musical offerings, that frantic energy now being replaced by a more considered and mature approach to songwriting. Lyrically many of the songs still adhere to punk’s social ethos and Darren Chewka’s drumming provides an unmistakably punk foundation. Eric Nielson’s powerfully aggressive vocal delivery ensures that you get the message, these guys aren’t mucking about and all the while, Shawn Moncrieff and Ryan Podlubny weave a wonderful bed of tasteful and considered guitar sounds that make this album, the eponymously titled “King Thief’, a joy to listen to.
‘Craver’ is a furious statement of intent, letting you know just what you’re getting into. Melodic guitars flow throughout this powerful album opener.
At just under two minutes, ‘No Allies’ is the shortest track on the album but that doesn’t lessen its impact – with big vocals and great rocking guitars lines throughout.
The splendidly titled ‘Gymposter Syndrome’ features some wonderfully weird guitar hooks that seem to be so wrong until they become so right.
‘Toxic Scene’ starts of with just guitars and vocals and when the drums eventually arrive this track proves to be a more
mid-paced rock and roll stomper.
Turning up the BPM once again’ We Want To Be Controlled’ has a great punk sound with a classic feel. Something tells me this one will be a crowd-pleaser with it’s catchy sing-along chorus and pounding guitars.
Some lovely guitar work leads us into ‘Your Father’s Table’ which has some great hooks and plenty of energy
‘Weather Blaboons’ seems to be the closest thing on this album to classic pop punk with lots of octave guitar lines and great vocal hooks.
‘Easy Answers’ has some beautifully odd feedback guitar melodies woven throughout and is one of the softer but more memorable tunes on the album.
Album closer ‘ Cost of Class’ is a great rocker with yet more well written guitar parts and heartfelt vocal delivery.
This album ‘King Thief’ is not just for the die-hard old-school punkers, it has a much wider appeal with some great songs and sounds that will be lapped up by fans of rock music the world over – no matter how old they are. The entire album has an unapologetically aggressive delivery with some wonderfully sophisticated instrumental parts and great little hooks throughout, giving us a set of songs that, although easy to listen to, have a depth that will keep us coming back for more
+ There are no comments
Add yours