King of the Slums were initially active in the late 80s and some say they missed out on the Manchester music boom which propelled the Mondays and others to national fame, although others would argue that they were never after that kind of exposure anyway…
Whatever the truth of these arguments, BM thought that KOTS produced some of the best music of that era, and this is their third album of recent years, after some long spells on hiatus. There have been lineup changes but the original musical DNA is still functioning well…
This 11 track release takes up the same musical and lyrical themes as before, and it is still a rich vein to mine, maybe less angry now than past glories such as ‘Vicious British Boyfriend’ but relevant nonetheless…
Searing guitar, solid backline and violin in true screeching form, plus the heavily accented lead vocal muttering and musing on a range of bizarre subjects. There are some trademark lyrical barbs here again, too many to mention, full of humour and sarcasm…
The music is dense and can be claustrophobic in nature but there also some very catchy moments (‘Snake Pass Luggage’https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0bvPaON4waM/hqdefault.jpg). BM is not going to make comparisons with two other long-running groups (one from Prestwich, one from Birkenhead) as KOTS appear to exist in their own world, as those others often do/did…
Time and space does not really do this release justice here, but just to say it is well worth a listen – true originals, for well over 30 years, and that says something…