KC Showcase: The UK's

The UK's-Bad Seed

In my string of shows that's populated my month I went to another album release show and it was for a band called The UK's and god damn if you want one awesomely high energy show by a group of some hungry young rockers then this band would be right up your alley.

These guy's have a sound that's kind of a combination of the Black Key's, Cage the Elephant, and The Arctic Monkey's and their debut album Bad Seed a conceptual album about a drug dealer who falls in love, get's his heart broken, and eventually goes on a killing spree that leads you through a series of solidly great rockers that range from the awesomely catchy opener Bad Seed which is a definite highlight in my opinion with it's who-oh's and solidly steady guitar work, the emotionally heartbreaking Delia and how she's gone away, and ending with the straight up rocker Trigger Man and all it's abrasive musical nature all end up forming a very nice collection of 10 songs to establish a newly branded rock group looking to make it big.

While the album is very solid I will say that these track are especially meant to shine when played in a live environment because this band really does put on quite an energetic show that brings a certain level of chaos to plenty of this albums strongest songs.

Also even with this album recorded they managed to debut a couple of newer tracks that in their early stages and are quite bad ass and showcase really well that this band is just getting started and the creative process isn't going to be stopping any day soon.

This is some good stuff and I highly advise going on Spotify and giving it a listen because Bad Seed is quite a damn great song that can hopefully get some traction on radio here soonish and of course if you want to see if the hype is real you can see these guy's playing shows all around the Kansas City area either May 7th at the Dubliner in KC live, June 4th or July 22nd at the All Star Rock Bar ,or June 18th at Davey's Uptown Ramblers Club which if you can I'd very much say you set your calender and give their show a visit and maybe pick up a CD you won't be dissapointed.

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KC Showcase: Kangaroo Knife Fight

Kangaroo Knife Fight

Aside from having a bad ass name this band is one bad ass collective of musicians that make the tightest and most focused rock and roll I've heard in quite some time and I recently got to see them again for their album release party for their new EP The Dark which of course can be bought on iTunes and Google Play and pretty soon after you done reading this little piece I'd very much advise picking up a copy because it's a great collection of live ready tracks that will get your blood pumping and leave you singing along well after it's over.

Every song works really well in a live environment and seeing them bust out Mr. Lovedrunk and Skyfalls with such energy and precision that really can only come from a collective of musicians that very much know what the fuck their doing and have been doing it for quite some time is something of a treat especially when you realize just how good a vocalist Anthony Avis is just throwing himself into each and every song while stomping around and just putting his all out there to give you something to remember and tracks like Mr. Lovedrunk, Hold On, and It's You will surely become solidly great sing along tracks the day the rest of the world get's realizing just how good a live act this band is.

If these guy's come around close to you I'd very much advise going to see them and also getting a copy of both available EP's because Mr. Lovedrunk especially is a track that'll invade your conscious and just never let go.

This band are some of the nicest people who just really make some bad ass well performed and written rock and roll and if you'd like to see them play they'll be playing as a part of the Middle of the map festival Friday May 6^th.

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KC Showcase: Rachel Mallin

Rachel Mallin-Razorback

So there's this singer named Rachel Mallin, she's a local singer/song writer and is currently performing with The Wild Type and currently recording their debut Ep and have a track currently called Dropout that's a really good little fuzzy indie rock track that sounds like it belongs in a movie or something, but as great as it is there's a track that I've been mildly obsessed with recently that she actually recorded back in 2014 which is kind of awkward but at the same time it's something that I'm kind of driven to want to cover and explain just how incredibly fucking good it is so pardon the large amount of exploitative that'll be coming but sometimes things can only be described with some interesting word choices for me.

There's this song she recorded called Razorback which is a very slow tempo synth heavy number that starts out with a very stark beat that's both moody and kind of atmospheric before a steady drum track and moody synthesizer come in and kind of bring a very steady rhythm that only builds up musically to create an even starker more depressive sound that in a weird way has mildly romantic points that is until you just kind of stop and pay attention to the lyrics which at that point is where things get very spine-tinglingly-great.

This song is fucking heartbreaking as fuck with it's delivery of fairly simple lines like, “I don't wanna scare you away, you're laughing cause it's funny how you're fooling everybody but me,”  “feeling hopeless and you're holding out for you,” or her constant repetition of how, “You're Lying to yourself,” but it's this weird joyfully depressive cut that kind of takes time, multiple listens, and a certain heartbroken state to really hit you but when it does hits you you're hit square in every part of you that feels any sense of love and emotion.

Admittedly there have been things that have gone on to make me feel such heartbreak but there's an odd light at the end of the tunnel feeling in knowing that I've managed in that to at least find something great or at the very least gotten a better appreciation for an artist work.

This chick is a hell of a talent people and if you get a chance to check out her and the Wildhearts it's much advised that you do because good things are coming from that project and their live show is fucking great especially when she bust out a more rock oriented rendition of this song that just builds up on things and becomes a very grab this fucking microphone and bust every bit of my emotions into this piece and it'll confirm just how spectacularly great this song really is, and just between me and you watching them play and listening to the music it kind of makes me want to finish a story and turn it into a movie just so she can do the soundtrack.

Also if you're in the area you can catch her playing at Davey's Uptown, KC at the UK's album release show this Saturday and May 6th at the middle of the map festival if you want to you know see what all this well deserved hype is all about and of course there's links below for some of her social media...

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R.I.P. Prince 1958-2016

This year's been rather tough on music with David Bowie passing on at the beginning you'd think it couldn't get any worse and yet another legend has passed on this day and it's saddening to say that I'll never get to see the majesty of one Prince live but he's hopefully in a better place now and the fact that his legacy of amazing music will now be even more immortalized is a thing.

I know I've joked in the past with an exaggerate love for Purple Rain but it really is true that I do find it to be one of the greatest songs ever written and I've played it quite a bit tonight and while I can't really post up some of his amazing work I can at the very least have a moment of silence for a man who put a voice to some of the best pop music of an entire lifetime....

R.I.P. Your royal awesomeness...

KC Showcase: Brave the Spirit

So I've been pretty much not writing because I lack the motivation to really put my thoughts to words or more specifically remember them long enough to write them down but recently in between my personal life being kind of shitty I've managed to start trying to devote myself into the whole local music scene here in Kansas City because I remember the tail end of last year and my year end having a lot of local music acts on it and I recently went to a showcase where a bunch of up and coming bands got the chance to really play for a decent sized crowd of people and after telling enough of them how good they're doing I figured I'd cover a few songs, ep's, and bands from my neck of the woods in something called the KC Showcase where I talk about local acts worth your time.

Brave the Spirit-The Beautiful Fight

I'm not going to lie I only really caught this group's last song at the showcase I went to but I remember being impressed with the song enough to compliment and get a hold of them via social media and recently got informed of this little EP they've been working on called the Beautiful Fight.

This record is some straightforward high energy acoustic heavy alternative rock with vocals that feel a bit early 2000's emo at points but in a very good way and you really can hear the energy and desire these guy's have to craft tracks they want you to remember the more and more you rotate this little collection of songs and it's opening track Hey Kid does a good job of getting things moving right out of the gate with a very heavy acoustic guitar and a synth beat that you could actually sing on it's own which leads to a tune that really keeps on staying good even after repeated listens.

The next track Lucy is a bit more of a dreamy affair and a solid song in it's own right as well as it's following track Limousines which in some odd ways reminds me a bit of another Kansas City act known as Josephine Collective with it's woa-oh's dominating the chorus and lyrics that feel straight out of early 2000s crushes which are all good in my book.

I will say that if there's a track that'll get you invested it'd certainly be this albums closer Inside Out which in all honesty is a very simple song that seems to just work on the principle of being a solidly great song with a straightforward approach and a sound that feels like it's the track that they really REALLY put an effort into making the biggest and most memorable song and it's a great closer to what's a solid collection of tracks that you'll find yourself rotating more and more and really just enjoying the songs even more.

Overall this Ep's pretty damn good and I'd advise taking the time to give it a listen because they just released it on Spotify today and below will be a few links to their various social media outlets so you can tell them what you think.

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