Album Review: The K's - 'I Wonder If The World Knows?'
The K’s Debut LP delivers great satisfaction amongst its following with a couple of surprises thrown in there for good measure.
The release of this album has felt like a long one in the making. Since the release of debut single ‘Sarajevo’ in July of 2017, the band have been building a loyal and passionate fanbase. And since there has been such a build-up to the release of their debut album, fans will be familiar with some of the tracks such as ‘Chancer’ which was released March of last year and ‘Valley One’ with a release date of 2020. Forming in a town between Manchester And Liverpool named Earlestown, the K’s deliver an energetic, lyrically explorative and exciting debut.
The main appeal that keeps the K’s sounding both familiar and fresh is their ability to reference the crunchy distortion of Indie icons with the rhythmic feel and pace of punk-pop. It’s a combination that shouldn’t fit, and in fact probably wouldn’t in usual methods.
However, it’s an ever so slight combination that it just adds a bit of flavour to an otherwise well established sound. Lyrically is also a massive pull to this band standing out. Most songs tend to have quite unique themes with detailed lyrics. ‘Chancer’ tells the story of a man falling in love with a stripper after a random encounter. ‘Black And Blue’ see’s the protagonist cross a man who’s “not the type of guy that you mess with round this town”
Surprises on this album come in the way of more ballads which isn’t something that The K’s discography so far hasn’t provided us much with. However, these are welcome, and the best composed songs on the album. The Choruses on ‘Hoping Maybe’ and ‘Lights Go Down’ are well crafted, and leave plenty of space for a range of dynamics throughout the verse and chorus, both melodically, and instrumentally. Lyrically, they’re not as explorative as other tracks but essentially, they are love ballads that don’t require much exploration.
Self-reflection and honesty are also key themes of the record. Older single and fan favourite ‘Hometown’ sees frontman Jamie Boyle describe his experiences of “Growing up as a normal lad in the UK” with descriptions of spending all your money on the weekend, and ending up in a bingeable cycle. The descriptive working class nature of the lyrics features all across the album, in which is a cycle within itself with Northern indie bands.
This is about as solid a debut release as you can ask for. It’s been smart and strategic too, the k’s have built both a fanbase and a good body of work that demonstrates what they are, and who they appeal to. The bands lyrical relatability, and fast-paced musical approach gives the impression of their debut LP being a successful one, and perhaps a surprise amongst the album charts. The album releases this Friday (22nd March) and is a must listen for fans of lyrically sound, and aggressive indie pop music.
Words by Doug Dewdney
