The King Blues - Under The Fog (2006)

From last.fm


"The King Blues are a punk collective from London. Their first break came in early 2006 when a demo of ‘Mr. Music Man’ made it into the hands of Mike Davies of Radio 1’s The Lock Up, who gave the band repeated plays. Support from Zane Lowe soon followed and The King Blues grabbed the attention of the UK’s biggest punk label, Household Name, who signed the band and released their debut ‘Under The Fog’ – recorded in their living room in the space of four days during June 2006.A postcard of modern Britain sent from the street level, ‘Under The Fog’ created an immediate buzz through the UK punk scene and enabled The King Blues to morph into a full live band – though they prefer the term ‘collective’ - to describe their fluid line-up, which generally features Johnny Rich (vocals and bass), Jim Parmley (percussion) and Gumby (drums). Tours were undertaken with likes of Gogol Bordello, Bedouin Soundclash and Capdown, not to mention shows with scene mainstays such as Jerry Dammers and Attila the Stockbroker; The Streets’ Mike Skinner meanwhile confirmed himself as the latest King Blues fan.Things stepped up a gear at In The City in September 2006 when ‘Mr Music Man’ was universally praised during a new music panel. This brought the band to the attention of Field Recordings, established by life-long reggae fan Rollo of Faithless and backed by Island Records. By the close of 2006, The King Blues ranked highly in numerous music polls including second biggest selling album in independent outlets and ‘Best Song of 2006’ for ‘Mr Music Man’, as voted for by listeners of The Lock Up."


Goddamn do I love this band or what. Hailing from UK, The King Blues play an incredible blend of ska punk and folk in the form of acoustics using such instruments such as synths, ukules, piano, and harmonicas. The thing I like about TKB is the that they incorporate a lot of political messages within in their lyrics and you'll first realize this when you listen to the intro for this album. The UK may be known for their 2-tone scene but this is defiantly a nice change for once. If you're into Paddyrasta (also posted on my blog), Bedouin Soundclash, Matt Wixson, The Skints than you'll love The King Blues vice versa. Hell, they even do a cover of Aqua's "Lollipop" at the end of the album and a cover of Billy Bragg on their EP. Defiantly an easy going band with chill melodies and overall peaceful tone perfect for anyone.

Download HERE