2012 was a year of seemingly great achievements for Britain with the Olympics and what not; however, another achievement for Britain came in the form of Manchester habituated indie band King Kartel. Since their birth, they have been offering satisfyingly upbeat and all-round feel-good music, and their latest releases, ‘Come At Me Now’ and ‘Run’, are no exception.

‘Come At Me Now’ begins with the drums pounding the intro into the ears of the listener, which is then accompanied by coolly executed vocals to form a short verse. The track then advances into the chorus, ensuring the pace and character of the song is one of full-on attack, no resting takes place – after all, rest is for the wicked. The chorus is arguably the predominant feature to ‘Come At Me Now’, making it undeniably catchy, one of those  songs which will continue playing in your mind all day.

We then approach the break in the track, welcoming a stylish lick on the guitar, reminiscent of the Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Arabella’. Having said that, there are also unquestionable similarities between the work of King Kartel and one of the Arctic’s biggest influences, none other than New York rockers The Strokes – a ‘Strokes-esque’ Mancunian band would be an arguably fair summary for King Kartel, in my opinion.

‘Run’ once again begins with the pace that has become a customary feature of the band, with the vocals proclaiming “the hurricane is coming”. The hurricane does inevitably come a few lines later with the introduction of the chorus, with piercing bends of guitar strings and well executed harmonies in the background. An elongated drum-roll leads to a guitar solo that simultaneously acts as an outro – it’s safe to say that ‘Run’ doesn’t let you down gently, in fact it leaves you wanting more, which any well-worked song should.

King Kartel once again provide us with a somewhat fresh offering in a Mancunian scene that arguably seems to be unnecessarily regurgitated time after time – Kartel have only tweaked things ever so slightly, but it does effectively make them stand out.

‘Come At Me Now/Run’ is out 30th March. 

 

Both of these tracks, as well as the already existing ones, provide excitement when imagining King Kartel live, which is something you can witness yourself during any of these dates below:

Leeds, Verve Bar – March 20^th

Manchester, Night ‘n’ Day Café – March 27^th

London, O2 Academy Islington – April 17^th

York, Stone Roses Bar – April 24^th

Blackburn, Live Lounge – April 25^th

Manchester, Ruby Lounge (‘Come At Me Now’/‘Run’ launch) – May 1^st

London, Proud Camden – May 9^th

 

James Cummins

@CummyBear