Expect more words about King Midas Sound in the near future, I nabbed a killer interview with Kevin Martin and Roger Robinson and am currently mulling what to do with it. In the meantime, I beseech you: see them live by whatever means necessary. Though the group’s album “Waiting for You” remains one of last year’s best kept secrets, a deeply warped series of songs about love and loss in London town, the live show is a completely different animal.
You know how they had My Bloody Valentine on that mixtape they did for Fact? Yeah. There’s a reason for that. Their stage show resembles an evil voodoo ceremony with Roger Robinson dressed as a 1920’s traveling blues artist, Hitomi randomly jumping around like a Japanese she-devil and Kevin Martin doing God knows what on the electronics to make sheer walls of noise/bass. Every song was cranked up to 11, morphing lovers rock into industrial strength sonic warfare. Landing somewhere between the apocalypse, shoegaze and bashment dancehall, the distortion shattered the expectations of those expecting polite downtempo trip-hop and delighted the open minded. Hopefully they can capture this sort of energy in future recordings, it’d be a shame not to get this vibe on tape.
The video for Lost presents the group in their calmer studio form but is nonetheless interesting. Focusing on a bleary Roger Robinson’s plight across empty city streets, the short takes a Wong Kar Wai approach, turning the urban environment into a character of its own, just as important as the man on screen. It’s as solid a visual as I’ve seen this year though admittedly, after seeing them live I can’t help but feel that this only hints at their potential. They’re that dope.
