I love this job. I am constantly getting turned on to new bands and sometimes listening to music I would have otherwise never heard. With King’s X “XV,” I was given another chance to listen to a band that I knew I should love but had been having trouble with. I have heard songs like “We Were Born to Be Loved” that I really liked… I have heard those whose opinions I respect greatly sing their praises… I have even tried the odd CD or two that I never got into. Then I stopped looking for Prog and found a world of crunchy Beatlesque Pop. I guess this is what King’s X has always been known for, but I missed the point somehow. I love bands like The Greys, Del Amitri and these are the influences I am feeling here.
The disc has a very live feel. These are cool songs, very catchy. As a matter of fact, I usually write these reviews without knowing the song titles, notated by the track number on my initial notes. On this CD the songs are so memorable I actually knew the names of all the songs as they came up after only a few listens.
All three band mates sing lead and have individual styles, yet there is magic the way all their voices blend together. I hear references like an American Ian Anderson from bassist Dug Pinnick, this is unexpected. There is also a resemblance to John Lennon with guitarist Ty Tabor, and a fragile quality ala Robert Wyatt with the drummer Jerry Gaskill. Suffice to say, it is all excellent in its execution.
Some standout tracks include “Repeating Myself” with its chorus of the redundant “repeating myself. “Pray,” “Blue,” “Broke,” “Alright…” who needs more than one word to title a song?! I also like the way they break the CD into two six cut “sides” and throw in two bonus tracks as well. 14 great songs for those who love Beatlesque pop with a hard edge.
Reviewed by Terry Jackson on December 16th, 2008
