||||Mediocre Music Blog

If you’ve never heard of Kings Go Forth, don’t fret. It turns out there is a very straightforward litmus test that can instantly determine whether or not you’re going to love their album. Do as follows: Crank up your volume, click the icon above to drop down the playlist, and start the first song, One Day. If you can get through that song without it making your feet tap and your booty shake, your musical tastes can only be described as Beiber-y and may god have mercy on your soul.

Ok, that’s a slight exaggeration. Your tastes are probably far from Beiber-y, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this. That song just slays though, does it not? It sounds vintage, like lots of these neo-soul/funk revival bands are sounding these days, but with a certain authenticity that nearly puts them in a class of their own (save for the legendary Dap Kings). If I didn’t know any better, I would have assumed that this was a hidden gem recorded in the early 70′s that somehow flew under the radar for decades, perhaps recently found at the bottom of a stack of vinyls in a Philly record store. This can very likely be attributed to their recording process; the band only used period-appropriate production and recording techniques, which gives it that very anachronistic early 70′s feel.

Andy Noble, the groups founder and bassist, hails from Milwaukee, WI and owns Lotus Land Records. In an interview with NPR, he offered his take on why this ‘recent’ soul resurgence is unlikely to go away any time soon: “I can understand how glam rock can go out of style. I can understand how disco can go out of style,” he says. “But something as primally gorgeous as hearing three guys singing harmony like that just seems like it’s too good to go out of style.” We can only hope he is right about that. The vocal harmonies he is refering to are probably best displayed on the track High On Your Love.

The Outsiders Are Back was released in April, 2010 and was easily one of my top 5 albums of that year. The 10-piece band is currently embarking on a small US tour that unfortunately is not coming anywhere near Boston. They are, however, playing at Southpaw in Brooklyn this coming Saturday, February 19th. You better believe that Gunz, Cailin and I will be at this show, having our socks forcibly rocked off of our feet. Tickets to this show are still available, and I strongly urge anyone interested and within striking distance to get on this. You can purchase tickets to the show at the following Ticketweb link. Also be sure to check out their very cool site on Luaka Bop Records. And if you’ve skipped over it, please listen to Fight With Love, which is certainly one of my favorite songs on the album. Enjoy!

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