Lonely Kings - Crowning Glory
by James Swinburne
published: 20 / 1 / 2002
Label:
Fearless
Format: CD
intro
"Convincing mix of punk, rock, emo and pop" and second album from the rapidly developing Lonely Kings, who have made a huge impact on the West Coast punk scene.
They have opened for such acts as Swingin’ Utters, Sublime, At the Drive In, Good Riddance and AFI. Formed in 1994 in Northern California, The Lonely Kings have made a huge impact on the West Coast punk scene. This could be due to the fact that they rock! Since their first full-length effort ‘What If’, which was released two years ago, their overall sound has developed considerably.‘Crowning Glory’ is a convincing mix of punk, rock, emo and pop, with the tracks ‘Less Than Zero’, ‘January Nights’, ‘To Live and Let Go’ and ‘What You Want’ standing out a mile. These are definitely what you want if you like catchy pop songs with a harder edge. Jake Desrocher’s harsh voice undoubtedly helps create this harder edge and also gives the band a mature sound. Vocals range from melodic to passionate screams, as demonstrated in the song ‘What You Want’. This album is filled with little surprises, and in particular, the ten minute long (I know, it’s not exactly little) experimental track, ‘Rajas’. The influence of the band Tool definitely comes across here, both in the structure of the song and in the sitar lines. There are a lot of good musical ideas in this track, but it can become really tiresome. This album takes The Lonely Kings up another step of their ladder of musical achievement,…maybe though they still have another couple of steps to go?
Track Listing:-
1 Less Than Zero2 Santa Cruz
3 Scar of Innocence
4 Never
5 What You Want
6 My Requittal
7 To Live and To Let Go
8 Atom Bombs
9 84
10 January Nights
11 3rd Floor
12 Houston We Have A Problem
13 Rajas
interviews |
Interview (2002) |
Santa Cruz punk outfit the Lonely Kings have had a stable fan base in the US for years, but their popularity is now spreading to Europe and Australia. Frontman Jake Desrochers talks to James Swinburne about the group's new album 'Crowning Glory'. |
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