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KING LOSES CROWN
You Can’t Escape EP

Minus Head (2013)
Rating: 7.5/10

San Francisco, California’s King Loses Crown make their debut with the You Can’t Escape EP. Formed by Kent Carter (vocals / bass / synths) and Michael Cobra (vocals / guitars), the band came together over their mutual love of anthemic punk rock and electronic dance music.

Much to my surprise, that pretty well sums up the sound of this EP. If you think Killing Joke and Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine (1989) mixed with the traditional punk straight beats and a punkish vocal then you have a very good idea of what to expect here.

The EP opens with the raucous ‘Fall Apart’, which builds up as if you were gonna get a big guitar anthem before quickly bringing it down to a darker place. It just pounds you over and over with a snarky punk flare and semi-automatic riffing. ‘Let This Be A Warning’ pounds and grinds in much the same way but adds a faster tempo into the mix, making it feel like more of an assault than the other tracks.

‘My Revenge’ and ‘The Happiness Conspiracy’ have a dancier feel to them, relying more on the synths and making you wonder what Depeche Mode might have sounded like if they’d have gotten really pissed off in the early 90s. The latter has a nice punch to it that brings the punk element back to the forefront mid-song.

‘You Can’t Escape’ has a more dangerous feel to it than the other tracks, bringing in a rock ’n’ roll groove but also letting the electronic side spring to life about three-quarters of the way through the song. In a way it seems like two totally different songs but it works extremely well and keeps your attention for its diversity rather than its intensity.

‘Your Blood’ is a circle pit inducer, but also the weakest track on the album. It reminds me a bit of Ministry and the other kind of faster moving industrialists but it’s also the one song that just doesn’t do much for me at all.

Overall, this is a strong debut for King Loses Crown. It feels really authentic to the styles it dabbles in, never really struggling with the “Am I trying too hard?” bit. That said, its likely appeal will be to fans of heavy music. I love the electronic elements but they never take over enough for electronic dance music to really embrace this in my opinion. If you enjoy Ministry, early Nine Inch Nails, or Killing Joke then this is definitely a band you should check out.

Mark Fisher

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