Friday, November 11, 2005

They're a band you love.



White Confection - The King Of France

Damn you, King Of France! Here’s some top notch pop from New York City which actually lives up to the ad line on the website of making you want to spin around Von Trapp style - not only that, there are enough angles to make you want to listen to it again and again, which is pretty much the way Ariel Pink hit me a little while ago.

Pop isn’t something I’m used to any more - when I saw they were soon to play at The Knitting Factory, the first person I thought about was Charles Gayle because it seems to this chap out in the provinces that he haunts the place. It was a shock to find out they actually put on gigs for people who play songs. Shows how much I know.

I heard “White Confection” about two weeks ago and the tune is still bouncing around in my head despite having listened to everything from Doowop, Popol Vuh, Flying Saucer Attack and my fridge in between. I think that means it’s memorable, don’t you? And it’s actually a relief to find something new that sticks in my mind because I hate not liking pop. Really, I do.

So - what do we get? A great room sound, a melody that burns right through into a tidy refrain (nice trick, make your verse so good you don’t need a chorus) a piano line that my mate Phil would nail instantly as being Eighties Liverpool and something of Suede in the delivery (that‘s a compliment) - and it’s gone.

Hit the repeat button, swing it round again. I just did. It’s still great.

The album’s out in the U.S, and the gig at the Knitting Factory is on the 17th November. They will be playing with Elf Power, so they show good taste in friends. Now - isn’t it about time we did a major feature on the Black Swan Network?

Visit - The King Of France
Buy - The King Of France - The King Of France US iTunes Store
Buy - Salad Days - The King Of France UK iTunes Store

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