“Since moving to Norway from Bristol (UK), I write, record and release music under the name The King’s Mountain. My songs are inspired by the joy, beauty and frustrations found in everyday working and family life.”
I am listening to and reviewing “See, the King!” by The King’s Mountain. It does make sense that the artist hails from Bristol, because this doesn’t sound Nordic at all, I thought!
As soon as the music kicks in, I am greeted by wonderful melodies that remind me of early Genesis, Yes, and The Beatles, mentioning bands from the ’60s and ’70s, perhaps because I have a limited reference point in terms of more contemporary artists of this style.
Additionally, I believe that this style of music, whether described as indie-folk or singer-songwriter (in which case we can also mention Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, among others), is actually timeless and transcendent of its time and musical trends. The lovely harmonies, reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel, evoke a sense of being safe in a musical womb, and the production is as modern as the era in which the music was created. However, the music style and its colours remain timeless.
I love the use of additional instruments, such as the cello and synth, to further enhance the central core of the songs, which is, of course, guitars and vocals. Additionally, the guitar sound palette ranges from drier, more natural sounds to lush reverbs, thus offering greater diversity throughout the album.
One of my pet peeves, in semi-acoustic, singer-songwriter music, is that the chords are pretty much the same, the vocal range is pretty much the same, to be fair, perhaps even more so in the poppier artists of that genre. Probably because people are trying too hard to fit into labels and tags, in an endless effort to promote themselves. But I find that it happens at a cost to the music.
Well, that is NOT the case with The King’s Mountain! A lot of variety here in the use of chord progressions, vocal range and timbre, arrangements and melodic structure. More than enough to make this album very pleasant to listen to from start to finish, and really let all the sounds sink in and wash over you, like watching an indie film with a cosy and slow pace of action, lots of nature shots and well-written characters. Favourite songs: ‘On a bright spring morn’ and ‘The Producer’.
Written by Spiros Maus
