Album Review: The K's - 'Pretty On The Internet'
The K’s strike back with their second album just a year after their debut.
Pretty On The Internet releases on 25th July and marks another step forward for the rising Merseyside four-piece.
I Wonder If The World Knows? released just last year was a huge success, marking a return for guitar-driven indie rock back into the mainstream, with the album reaching #3 on the charts, only held off top spot by Beyonce and fellow rockers The Libertines. As well as this it was the second biggest debut album of the year. To release a sophomore record just over a year after their debut displays not just the special talent oozing from the band, but also their sheer drive and their undeniable adoration for music and their fans. The hype around them is palpable and all the band can seem to do is deliver.
The album builds on supplying the fast, lively, melodic guitar riffs of their debut, yet is still able to stay heartfelt with an honest and vulnerable Jamie Boyle at its core. His vocal performance is clear and strong whilst his lyrics remain just as relatable and sincere as in their previous work. It makes him such an endearing frontman.
A standout track for this is the album’s lead single ‘Breakdown In My Bedroom’ where Boyle reflects on his ongoing struggles with mental health, comparing the comfort, but ultimately lonliness of isolation with the fear and challenges that the outside world poses.
‘The Bends (Here We Go Again)’, the LP’s fourth single is the best example of the band’s melodic, anthemic choruses that make them such an entertaining band to see live. Boyle’s driving vocals on catchy choruses like these will certainly whet fans appetites to see them perform. The band are providing the opportunity to do so with the album being played in full across five dates in September.
Pretty On The Internet isn’t all thumping drumbeats and loud guitar solos however, songs like ‘Helen, Oh, I’ introduce a different, new, more tender approach to expressing their musical inclination. Pianos and strings take the lead over amps and guitars here providing a breather from the relentless energy of most of the album. The band’s clever use of their instruments don’t take a break however, nor does Boyle’s introspective lyricism. It's simply a new and just as exciting avenue for the band, something they can certainly build on in further releases.
‘Perfect Haunting’, the album’s closer, represents another breach into unknown territory with a more dramatic, almost theatrical feel. It feels satisfying not just within the confines of this album, but especially as a fan of the band’s whole discography. Just another string to their ever-expanding bow.
The way The K’s have been able to combine the energy and rhythm of pop-punk with the punch of rock and the open vulnerability and authenticity of indie songwriting has captured the minds and hearts of music scene. This mixture has created a wide, genuine appeal which keeps the band at the forefront of any listeners mind up until now and given their trajectory, very likely into the foreseeable.
They possess a brilliant ability to uplift hooks and rhythms in a way that feels fresh and new, in an indie rock scene where much of what you hear feels like rehash of what has already been done twenty years ago. They’ve been able to rise above their counterparts with their unique version of a classic sound and with the release of Pretty On The Internet, look primed to expand their ever-growing and already committed fanbase and ultimately continue their climb to the top.
Words by Luca Jarman
