[one_half last=”no”]
[/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]TO KILL A KING
Exit, Pursued By A Bear
Release-Date: 20.10.2014
Label: Xtra Mile Recordings
Tracklist:
1. Oh My Love
2. Breathe
3. The Constant Changing State Of Us (Gold)
4. Love is Coal
5. So My Friends Want To Marry
NBHAP Rating: 3,5/5
[/one_half]
Cannibals with working morales
British indie-folk band TO KILL A KING is definitely one of those bands that plays its way up into bigger venues and larger amounts of fans by performing pretty much everywhere they can. The fact that the band around front man Ralph Pelleymouter is also a great live ensemble really helps here. Following 2013’s sweet debut LP Cannibals With Cutlery, the guys clearly haven’t been lazy in the past months. The sophomore album arrives in spring 2015, this EP satisfies the needs of their ever-growing fanbase.
Everything’s in flow
Pellymouter himself described Exit, Pursued By A Bear as ‘a pit stop on the road to optimism.’ It opens the band’s musical microcosm to new ideas while not forgetting the own roots. TO KILL A KING‘s progress is a natural flow which might also explain the concept of having the songs merging into each other. Oh My Love starts with a sweet melody and gentle break-beats before resulting in a furious finish with plenty of guitars and a mighty brass section. Starting with a statement like this is obviously not the worst choice.
Honest mainstream ingratiation
Breathe follows the opening as a little acoustic interlude that motivates us to hold on before The Constant Changing State Of Us (Gold) heads back into a more epic environment. Love Is Coal, on the other side, unfolds a funky four-to-the-floor beat with a dancing piano on top of it. It might aim for the charts and radio playlists of the world but in the most honest way. The five-track selection ends with the gentle piano-driven lullaby So My Friends Want To Marry and some final wise words by Pellymouter. ‘Some men were born with hate, no men were born to hate’ he sings, looking into a more optimistic future. As long as it includes more music by TO KILL A KING we’re happy to join him.
‘Exit, Pursued By A Bear’ continues TO KILL A KING’s natural evolution as it mixes new influences and ideas into their indie/folk-formula, keeping us excited about their second full-length LP.
—