NEWS: Kingskin - Top 20 Best New Bands

KINGSKIN are in this months CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE.  Our title track ‘SLUG’ is on the cover mount cd and we’ve been highlighted as being in the Top 20 best new bands of 2010, good times.  Please buy it for your own listening pleasure

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NEWS: new tunes over on Myspace

To kick start the new year we’ve done a bumper upload of 3 whole tracks from Slug to our Myspace page. Head over & have a listen to Shot Down in a Small Towm, The One Everyone Hates and Fat Mama Got Soul.

NEWS: come follow us you twitter fiends…

We’re now on twitter, do come join us…

REVIEW:

Somewhere in America’s Deep South there are wanted posters with Kingskin’s faces plastered all over, posters searching for a band that could only have come from that part of the world as their funk fed blues oozes through their Southern sounding raw rock. It’s the type of music that’s out to reclaim the gender definition, none of this skinny jean, hair straightened to within an inch of its life dripping in product for these guys, oh no. In Kingskin’s world men are men, there’s no blurring of the gender roles. Their music is a fist full of hard hitting, rough around the edges meat to get your chops into, the type that’s searching for a dank bar to pick a fight in whilst emitting more cool than is humanely possible. The only difference is this quartet aren’t from the Deep South, indeed they’d be more likely to find their bar in their native Dover, but that doesn’t mean they’re the greatest band that the Deep South never had, and one the locals are still on the hunt for. No, these guys are one of our own, thank god. Debut album, ‘Rhyme For Smalltime’ finds the Dover four piece covering all the bases, from the emotion filled acoustic numbers through to the hefty bouts of rock that pound with chunky riffs and hammering beats whilst never losing an ounce of cool. From the stomping confidence of opener ‘Bottom Dollar’ to the full throttle clout of ‘She Got The Bomb’, right down to the raging charge of venom spat out during ‘In The Way’ as it sprints angrily by, Kingskin rough you up with glee, ripping you by the scruff of the neck before merrily slamming you against the wall and what’s more, you’ll be begging them to do it all again. With a thumping bass line that pulsates, radiating a sleaze tinged vibe that’s as appealing as it is hedonistic, ‘Suck Me Sideways’ refuses to leave anyone immune to the band’s charm as singer Chris Lamb’s gravel toned growls and gruff tinged groans snare all. But there’s more to the four piece than rough aggression. The ballad-esque, ‘Nothing Left To Burn’ captures the band’s softer side, rippling with emotion and gentle, perfectly executed guitars whilst the brilliantly titled ‘Too Many Chiefs Not Enough Indians’ gives centre stage to the funk blues core of the band. Relegating everything else to the sidelines as groove fused beast saunter by, ‘Too Many Chiefs …’ is dripping in an unquestionable coolness before Kingskin unleash chunky riffs and noodling guitars to add a touch of grit to the mellow loveliness of the track. And even then there’s still more up their sleeves as the unnerving whisper of Lamb, leering unsettlingly throughout the lo-funk darkness of the verses of ‘Peeping Tom’ set out to scare and thrill, only making way for heartfelt acoustic driven ‘Stick Around’, dazzling with Lamb’s raw emotion to truly bring a tear to the eye. Don’t panic though, Kingskin aren’t about to leave you on a downer. Take their advice and stick around till the end of the track where the Dover lads have cheekily added a hidden gem that explodes with a chug of guitars and a blast of “ye-haw” before the quartet show their fun side with a hoe down ditty about a farmer and his cows; fun filled to guarantee they leave you smiling. Unlike any debut album you’re likely to hear this year; ‘Rhyme For Smalltime’ is a polished, professional chunk of pure rock. It’s the type of album bands on their third or fourth studio outing would be begging to make and whilst their style may not be ground breaking, Kingskin are definitely at the forefront of their game. The best American band to come from the UK.

Review from RoomThirteen

NEWS: we’re on Total Rock radio 17/12/09 @ 4pm

Kingskin will be popping into Total Rock radio studios for a chat and to play songs off the new record slug.  Its on Thursday the 17th @ 4pm, you can tune in at www.totalrock.com

BLOG: Recording in Chicago with Steve Albini, day 3

The first three days of working with Steve were great fun! If there exists a sound you want that would be perfect for the tune, he can find it for you no trouble, sometimes even if you don’t know your looking for that sound. The guy is a machine! I also had a bizarre conversation with Steve…(cont…)

…about playing at Butlins and Pontins, who would have thunk?! I thought those were places just for skanks and struggling musicians like myself.

Tuesday was supposed to be Steve’s day off but he kindly let us come in for a couple of hours to polish off the basic tracks. It proved to be a wise decision to retire the previous evening as we rattled off the remaining tracks in no time. We finished up early and for the first time got to go out and see a piece of Chicago, we only made it as far as the Heavy Metal restaurant at the corner of the street. This was a cool place with really friendly punters, Jack daniels on tap (!) and giant American burgers named after legendary metal bands. I had the Metallica, they never tasted so good. Hello to Rick and Raul the 2 police officers who bought us shots all night.

It’s now almost a year in to 2009 English time. I’m super excited that I’ll be spending new years day working on a kick ass record with my best mates. Pass the vodka!

BLOG: Recording in Chicago with Steve Albini, day 2

Monday was spent recording basic tracks. We had already nailed 2 songs the previous evening and had 9 left to complete. We managed to bash out 7 tracks, most of which were first takes, all that rehearsing paid off.  (cont…)

Although this day was very exciting, towards the end of the day we were all starting to feel it, and the takes were coming a little slower. At this moment our vibe man Gareth was deployed. The man did an excellent job of whipping us into shape. In one instance, I walked through to the live room to find Gareth slapping Trev into shape literally!! Going through those last takes with the G man dancing around with us while we jammed, and gurning in my face was a joyous occasion I will never forget.

We finished the day with 2 basic tracks left to complete, staggered up to the apartment above the studio and collapsed for the night.

BLOG: Recording in Chicago with Steve Albini, part 1

It’s 9.23 am Chicago time on Monday 29th December 2008. We tried to write our first blog last night as promised but we were all so studio fried, all that could be written was pure nonsense and it was much more fun to be playing with the studios many cats!! (cont…)

After a surprisingly easy flight, a joyous reunion with our vibe man Gareth at the airport and a bit of a row with a Mexican cab driver we finally arrived at the studio.
The place is amazing with vintage gear older than your mum, and the most amazing set ups its not hard to see why bands travel from all around the globe to record here. At this moment I’m sure I see Gareth and our singer Chris sharing a loving embrace out the corner of my eye!

We made it! They let us in the country! We shared a victory meal and beer before bed all excited about starting our first session.


Day 1

We roused around midday (Chicago time) and sauntered down to the studio. This day was mostly spent playing with vintage amps, drums and all sorts trying to find our sounds. This was a pleasant experience. Russ quickly found his thunder drums, utilising a beaten up old snare drum from the 20s. A past drummer found this for 30 bucks at a flea market hanging on the wall as a decoration. I’m sitting with Russ now who has just learned the true value of the snare…5 grand!!!

Between Chris, Gareth, Albini and myself we put together the most insane guitar rig you have ever heard. I now know what Zeus feels like whenever he takes a dump and it feels good people! Trev took a little longer to perfect his bass sound, this didn’t come as a surprise from the man who has spent the last 4 years building the famous ‘la bete bass’. It was worth the wait, as the bass is now pumping harder than a mule on your mum.

We sound checked with an old tune She Got The Bomb. This was lot of fun, and if we get time we may record it as a b side.

Steve Albini is such a relaxed funny guy that it’s easy to forget that he’s a massive legend who has recorded some of the best albums in history. Pixies, Nirvana, Pj Harvey and recently, Iggy Pop and The Stooges. Watching him slice and splice, mix and fix and build that legendary drum sound was exciting, I never thought I would ever get so pumped watching someone mix drums! It’s truly an honour to be here.

We managed to get 2 basic tracks done and then we retired for the evening. 2 down, 9 to go… 


Love
Jak, Kingskin

REVIEW: We’re in Total Guitar’s top 20 downloads!

We sent Rhyme for Smalltime to Total Guitar to review, they liked it so much they put Bottom Dollar in at No.5 in ther Top 20 Recommended Downloads!