Nestled somewhere in between the folk arena rock of Frank Turner and the indie pop melodies of Dog Is Dead lies To Kill A King’s new release, Exit, Pursued By A Bear.  The five track EP sees the Leeds boys enlist the help of Bastille’s ‘Bad Blood’ producer, Mark Crew, as they reveal a snippet of what can be expected in their upcoming 2015 full length album.

Opener, ‘Oh My Love’, has real potential on the mainstream market due to it’s sharp production, guitar driven chorus and ultra cool backing vocals. Whilst the lyrics are super love lorn and dare I say, pessimistic, ‘we’re destined to demise’, this track is one that fills us with great hope and optimism for To Kill A King’s future release.

‘The Constant Changing State Of’ masters the art of catchy percussive riffs that make the song feel like a familiar old friend rather than some brand new material. It makes for easy listening whilst at the same time not feeling ‘samey’ or losing it’s original appeal. That being said, the track does seem to blur in amongst the others on the EP and I felt myself pining for some fresh hook, only to be left unfulfilled.

Front man and beholder of the soothing vocals, Ralph Pelleymounter, describes the EP as ‘a pit stop on the road to optimism, somewhere to pick up snacks and petrol, somewhere to admire the local attractions, like a girl with a beard of bees’. So um yeah, there you have it. Girls with beards of bees were my main thoughts whilst listening to this EP too. Honest.

But in all seriousness, Pelleymounter couldn’t be more right in saying the EP is a point somewhere along the band’s ‘journey’ (god, not that old cliché) and thankfully it’s one of progression. Living up to it’s title taken from Shakespeare’s famous stage direction, Exit, Pursued By A Bear really is a departure from what To Kill A King used to be. That’s not to say however, it’s where they’re going to end up and if this EP is anything to go by, 2015 has a lot in store.

Jess Readett

@jessreadett