King Nun - 'Black Tree'

In what feels like a subtle departure from their erratically scintillating sound, King Nun have released a new single that is ambiguously dark and feels like an insight into their night terrors. 

There’s a slight melancholic feel about the simplicity of the instrumentation in ‘Black Tree’ which allows for obscure lyrics to shine. There is an immense poetic quality in the bleak descriptiveness which creates vivid imagery – “you won’t go outside because you haven’t been sleeping / and it wouldn’t be nice if she knew you were acting like a spider racing into the sky / there’s a black tree rising and no-one knows why.” The monotonous conversational tone of vocalist Theo is reminiscent of Nick Cave with its moodiness which is perfectly balanced out by the subtle sparse clouds of mourning that pass intermittently throughout the song. Nathan’s insistent bass line adds that familiar warmth that King Nun have perfected, and Caius’ steady drum pattern allows the weight of the song to be in full effect. 

Alongside the new single comes the announcement of King Nun’s debut album ‘Mass’ which is due to be released on October 4th.

Words by Tyler Damara Kelly

The album announcement comes in the wake of a huge summer for King Nun, including a recent support slot for Foo Fighters, and a wealth of raucous performances at festivals up and down the country. September will see the band play a run of headline shows in the US, alongside some support slots with Reignwolf, whilst October will see them return to the UK with The Struts. The full list of dates can be found below.
August
30 - Macewan Hall Calgary, AB (with Reignwolf)
September
2nd - Bu Bar, Portland, OR
3rd - Crocodile - Back Bar Seattle, WA
5th - Senator Theatre Chico, CA
7th - The Independent, San Francisco, CA
8th -The Echo, Los Angeles, CA
October
11th - Academy, Manchester (with The Struts)
12th - Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh (with The Struts)
13th - Leadmill, Sheffield (with The Struts)
15th - UEA, Norwich (with The Struts)
16th - Kentish Town Forum, London (with The Struts)
17th - Great Hall, Cardiff (with The Struts)
19th - O2 Academy, Leicester (with The Struts)
20th - O2 Academy, Bournemouth (with The Struts)
22nd - 013, Tilburg - Holland (with The Struts)
23rd - Zappa, Antwerp - Belgium (with The Struts)
24th - Trianon, Paris - France (with The Struts)
25th - Burgerhaus Stollwerck, Cologne - Germany (with The Struts)
27th - Columbiatheater, Berlin - Germany (with The Struts)
28th - Technikum, Munich - Germany (with The Struts)
29th - Fabrique, Milan - Italy (with The Struts)