KING - We Are KING

KING
We Are KING
2016
Spotify

There has been more than a few posts on this blog about how R&B is stagnate and needs something to shake it up and bring it back into the mainstream in a big way. Do-Wop made an effort in 2015 with Leon Bridges, but clearly the world was just waiting for KING. We Are KING may come across at first as just another R&B record but as you listen you fins that these ladies are blending rich harmonies with surreal pop and ambient electronic to create something wholly new and wholly their own. This is the kind of music you can imagine Prince listening to in his free time. Songs like "The Greatest" flip the genre on its head by bringing in 80s style synths for an electropop vibe that just floats under the surface, never fully taking over the track. There is a depth to what KING are doing on this record that is really unmatched in the R&B world. There does not seems to be an obsession with hooks on this record which gives KING the ability to go anywhere and try anything. They are not locked into one way of thinking which just gives the music an openness and a wide reach. Then there are the voices, these magical voices that alone are beautiful, but when harmonizing together are absolutely next level.

Each track on this record has it's own sound but there is definitively a through line that ties them all together. At times it is more pronounced than others which gives the impression that a lot of the record sounds the same but this album flourishes in the subtleties. IT is the little amazing moments that bring it to life rather than an over-arching landscape. "Hey" is possibly the biggest standout with its completely ethereal vibe that flows for six and a half minutes. However it never becomes repetitive it just keeps folding more and more into the song creating these layers of music that simply inspire. Don't expect to find any club bangers or dub-step here that's not what KING is trying to do. KING wants to show you that R&B can be much more than dance tracks, it can be transformative and magical. The whimsy of this record shows that the ladies of KING both know how to make a great record and not take themselves so seriously as to forget that music is supposed to be fun. We Are KING may be this groups first record, but if they keep on like this we will be hearing great things from them for a long time to come.

8.6 out of 10