Tag Archives: Classic Rock

01.29.21
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Kings & Bears – When The Day

In a little over a week’s time, all being well with flight schedules and PCR rest results, I’ll be back in the UK. Regular readers of Sonic Breakfast will know that I’m going to miss Spain greatly. The opportunity I’ve had since July to be over here whilst ‘working from home’ has clearly been a ‘once in a lifetime’ thing; a plus-point and unexpected consequence of the global pandemic.

I’ll be heading back to Crowland, Lincolnshire. I know that I’m resilient and that I’ll adjust to the cold, darker days and shorter supply of space. It’ll be reassuring to know that I’ll be on the same island as many more friends and family members (not that I’ll be able to see them). And the worst extremes of a British Autumn and Winter will hopefully have been missed. Spring and all of its glory is on the way, right? 

Lincolnshire can’t exactly be described as a hotbed of Rock ‘n’ Roll development. Try to name a famous musician who was born or grew up in the County and you might struggle unless you’re the very switched-on sort at pub quizzes. In Spalding, they still remember the time that Jimi Hendrix played a festival in the town for no other reason (apparently) than this (from over 50 years ago) was also the last gig there of any note. 

 

But maybe today’s featured Sonic Breakfast act are en route to beginning to put Lincolnshire on the music map? Kings & Bears are from a place somewhere in the County though they cunningly avoid telling me precisely where when I briefly chat with James, lead singer from the band, in advance of writing this piece. You can tell from the accompanying video to their energetic and wholly likeable track, When The Day, that this is a trio who knows how to party hard. It’s a song inspired by hazy nights and blurry mornings and there’s no surprise to see the three members of the band crumpled and comatose at the end of their excess – with a twist.

“It felt as though an out-and-out party vid just isn’t us,“, says James. “So we wanted to reflect this idea but imbue it with our own personality.”

‘When The Day’ is a three minute dose of joyful, classic Rock. The riffs and the vocal inflections will be familiar but this is well performed and will likely have you smiling as you sing along with the chorus. It’s a job well done for Kings & Bears who formed on the dawn of James’ 30th birthday after he freaked out about reaching such a grand age. 

“For me it was about spreading a message of joy like so many of the artists that had influenced me,”, he offers.

Perhaps that return from Spain won’t be so traumatic after all…

 

11.30.20
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Supervene – Weeping Desire

Compared to some, my lockdown lot has been a lucky one. It’s hardly been a chore to be stuck here in Spain whilst the world goes mad around me. I do feel desperately sad for my Leicester-based friends who’ve not had much of a break from this since March. England’s forgotten city and my adopted hometown has undoubtedly had it bad and yet I bet the people of Leicester still have some sympathy for those in Melbourne, Australia. By all accounts, Friday was something of a day of celebration there as they emerged from one of the most draconian lockdowns the globe has seen. 

I didn’t know that the Melbourne one had been so fierce. This year has closed our borders and our interests have got more parochial. There might be a global pandemic going on but we only want to know about the R rate in our own localities. Our horizons shrink as our tears are drawn. 

I only found out about the Melbourne lockdown when chatting  with Supervene about their latest video and single, Weeping Desire.

“We have just finished one of the longest and toughest Lockdowns in the world.“, they said. “It could have all been avoided as the Victorian government bungled the International Quarantine and caused the spread of infection. This has been causing us to weep for 5 months in lockdown ! “

Initially I thought that Supervene were being overly-dramatic about their own lot (the Rock band privilege) until I randomly read a BBC news article backing it all up.

“The streets were completely deserted. It was like something out of [post-apocalyptic film] Mad Max,” said a certain Mr Lanigan, who owns the cafe Lucky Penny on the iconic shopping strip.

Supervene suggest that Weeping Desire was completed just before Lockdown. If true. they might add fortune telling to their list of skills. There’s an anger that simmers within, controlled and bubbling until the shit just gets too much. And I guess the message here is that it’s OK to lose it from time to time if the alternative is breakdown in lockdown.

The Who (the band not the organisation) were at their best when their rants were forceful and their riffs driven. Supervene draw upon this essence to give us some quality Classic Rock to kick off the week. Throw those plant pots against the wall and worry not about the consequence.