Album Review: King Nun - 'Mass'

Wandsworth noise-punks King Nun have finally released their hotly anticipated debut album ‘Mass’. Noted by many as a coming of age; the album is an amalgamation of the last five years of their youthful lives.

For those who were used to the raw, unpolished, and chaotic sound that the quartet were exploring in their early days; their more mature and mellow sound may come as a surprise, but what’s great about ‘Mass’ is that we get to witness King Nun experiment and expand on their sonic catalogue – though there are still elements of their roots within the new songs for those that have been with the band since day one. 

King Nun’s debut is laid out as such that every song appears to serve a purpose, no matter how obscure they may seem individually. Starting out with their previously released ‘Chinese Medicine; we’re taken on a journey through the spoken verses of ‘Cowboy’ to the disconcerting rattling guitars on ‘I Saw Blue. As Mass develops, we’re thrown into the heart of the chaos. ‘Low Flying Dandelion’ being a particular standout with the dizzying juxtaposition between bass and guitar which feels like each singular piece is channelling Chic and Sonic Youth, respectively.

 Next, comes what feels like an anti-love song in ‘Sharing A Head With Seth’ which is about dealing with that part of yourself which you struggle to keep on a leash. ‘Bug’ feels like a continuation on this theme with lyrics such as: “my reflection keeps staring at me / it’s ‘cause he thinks I’m vain / and it’s always in the way / such a god-damn pain” and tinkering away in reverie is the sweetly obscure ‘A Giant Came Down’. Three years after bursting onto the scene, King Nun’s debut shows that sometimes it’s a good thing to wait until your debut is ready to unravel, rather than throwing it out into the world and hoping for the best.

Words by Tyler Damara Kelly

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