Based in Manchester but mostly hailing from Newry, King Kartel have been kicking up quite a storm recently both here and on mainland U.K. with their brand of Fratelli’s style Indie Rock. The video for their debut single ‘Stone Cold Killer’, has now reached nearly 30 000 views on Youtube. Impressive indeed for a band only formed in 2012.
But you can see why they have attracted the following they have. While the musical furrow they so enthusiastically plough is not a new one by any stretch of the imagination, in terms of song writing the band have a clear idea of what they want to sound like and pull off that vision with effortless ease. What I like about them is that, while they may not have an original sound, they have not packaged up their image as some retro-60’s Mod band, the way some bands (The Strypes for instance) have and pretend to be part of some new cool trend. Let’s be honest, there is nothing new going on here. And that’s ok because, taking the song on its merits, ‘Gunslinger’ has more than enough to win King Kartel their fair share of Indie fans and keep festival crowds happily bouncing in the mud, without insulting our intelligence that they have reinvented the wheel.
A listen to the rest of their material also shows that they have some variation in their material, which should sustain interest in them beyond that initial enthusiasm and laddish charm.
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