A raw, emotional and intriguing debut EP from Manchester's King Violet.
When setting up Bad Taste, we already knew how powerful and exciting the Manchester scene was. What has come to light, however, is how sonically diverse the inhabitants of the Northern Quarter are. King Violet are hard to define - nor should we attempt to, really. The band's influences are cited as such heavyweights as Wolf Alice (the best band in the UK right now?) with the 'drama and dreamy backing vocals of 2000s pop.' Listening to the group's debut EP this week, it is clear that, despite the overdrive, there is a level of delicacy in their songcrafting that sets them apart from some of their out-and-out punk counterparts.
Lyrically, the project takes us through the tales of anger, summer skies, love, misogyny and 'a temperamental cat', a blend of cliché and unexpected wit. Mai Anderson's vocals, reminiscent of The Big Moon's Juliette Jackson in her timbre, straddles sweetness with the ability to access a throaty edge that elevates some of the heavier elements of the album. But with all the comparisons to existing artists, to us it is clear that KV are discovering their own sound, their own opus on youth culture in the '20s. And that, possibly, is what our love of the underground boils down to right now. King Violet and co. seem to confidently represent the culture up and down the country; the anger of the twenty-something, screamed at their peers with an ironic wink.
The Pedant, released in October and setting the pace for the upcoming project, grabs the ears with a scratchy 'hello' from the guitars, followed by a decisive scream from Mai Anderson. From there, the track powers on with palm-muted power chords under a pretty pleasing melody. The track focuses on a recent breakup, describing the pedant in question as a 'self-proclaimed nice guy' and you can feel some of that bitterness through the sweetness. A belted chorus in half-time breaks up the track nicely and we're treated to a fuzzed-up guitar solo that doesn't particularly go anywhere melodically but is great fun to listen to, regardless. The vocals do seem to get slightly muddied in the mix; a little more high end to cut through through the mids and they would stand out even more, which is what they deserve, really. It's a an issue that doesn't seem as prevalent in the rest of the project, and doesn't particularly detract from the overall strength of the track. It's a strong opener, with a chorus you can imagine going down especially well in a live setting.
The second track, 'Brightest Eyes', is softer, the snare rolls adding a delicacy that proves what we stated earlier about KV standing out from their contemporaries. It's mature and tugs at the heart a little. The chorus' chord progression reminds us a little of Black Honey's 'Corrine', but the vocal melody is different enough to banish any thoughts of derivation very quickly. The middle eight also has a nice minor anticipation that leads us back into the final chorus. Also in this section, whispers and spoken words sprinkled from left to right fill it out texturally. There are some tasty rolled drum fills, too. It's a good time to mention the strength of King Violet's backing vocals, which just give the songs a great texture as well as a harmonic boost. This particular track might fall a little flat without them, but it's instead boosted by the depth that the vocals give it. A very solid output and definitely a favourite of ours.
The penultimate number, 'Tya', opens with a noise we can probably attribute to the aforementioned 'temperamental cat'. It's quite a funny contrast from the earnest emotion of the previous song, with Anderson audibly trying to stop her pet from biting her. It's driven by a thick bassline and four-on-the-floor tom work. It's here that KV delve a little more into the punk pocket of their trousers, to retrieve a track that is definitely carried by the wit of the lyrics and less by a distinct melody. Highlights include some interesting guitar effects, more shiny than crunching like the opener. Okay, the main riff is repetitive and chromatic but the lyrics are entertaining enough to keep us interested and the guitar work is manic at times in a kind of carefree manner.
Then we get to what we think is the standout offering, deserving of its place as the title track. Blended together with 'Tya' through a seamless transition and a change of pace and feel, there's already a strong guitar line which darts through an overdrive pedal before drifting into a more chilled sonic space. The vocals flow very nicely on top of a kind of bossa-nova drum pattern. The track combines everything we've enjoyed over the course of the project; the instrumentation is at its tightest, the melody is engaging, the guitar lines complement and don't overpower, and there's a wit in the lyrics that puts a smile on our faces. Perhaps the production of the vocals comes back once again to haunt them, as they seem to be going for an 'underwater' feel that only really pays off later when paired with a crisper, telephone effected vocal underneath it. However, the chorus is another belter, screaming the title words at us and sounding like something off the Arctic Monkeys' debut. Some rubato midway through captures the 'live' feeling that is present throughout the whole EP and, as the piano drifts away feeling like the end of a Radiohead track, we really just want to play the whole thing again.
In all, a top offering from yet another Manchester band that excites us a lot. The rawness of the record suits aspects of the sound, and we appreciate the feeling that it was recorded at least partially in a live setup. However, some of the production faults betray the potential of tracks like 'Do Me A Favour', that might have benefitted from slightly crisper vocal EQing. Nevertheless, the tracks are individually great as well as feeling part of a collective project. We feel very privileged to be among the first to hear this project and our advice is to keep an eye out for all future releases.
You can catch the EP when it drops tomorrow, and all existing releases through the links below.
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King Violet's Socials:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kUAlRQppRY&list=PLlymGAn8VfjBxN-HbPTpWJbICdXdmgUo6&index=3
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kingvioletband
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