To Kill A King

When it came to writing the new To Kill A King album, there was one main thing that frontman Ralph Pelleymounter wanted to say: make now count. That do-or-die spirit is there in the chorus to the exhilarating Oh My Love, as Pelleymounter sings, “Oh my love/We’re destined to demise/But there’s nothing we can do/There’s nothing we can say”. The point is, we’re all going to meet our maker one day, so let’s make the most of life. “It’s a carpe diem, seize the day thing,” says Pelleymounter. “Compared to our last album, there has been a definite effort on this one to be more optimistic and more life-affirming. The point is that our time is limited. Now is the main thing.”

It is no coincidence that seizing opportunities and not letting life pass you by are what kicks Pelleymounter out of bed in the morning given his band’s current predicament. He and his bandmates – Grant McNeill (electric guitar), Ben Jackson (synth and keys), Peter Hakola (bass) and Josh Taffel (drums) – are on the cusp of a big breakthrough and they have made a record fit to kick the door down. Their self-titled new album (released March 2^nd, 2015) is the sound of a band hitting the peak of their powers. It’s the sort of record that could only be made now, an album where stadium-sized choruses, artful dynamism and sonic experimentalism slide seamlessly together. It will place the quintet firmly in the lineage of British guitar bands, such as Foals, the Maccabees and Bombay Bicycle Club, who make imaginative, exciting indie-rock. Like those groups, To Kill A King make music with no straitjacket on, a heady blend of youthful exuberance and spirited independence leading the way.

They are used to doing things themselves. They formed in 2009 as students in Leeds and their debut single, Fictional State, was released on the Mumfords-affiliated Communion label in 2011. But by the time it came to making their debut album, they had grown out of the folk-rock scene and began to explore a wider array of sonic textures. They followed up the single with the release of two EPs, My Crooked Saint and Word Of Mouth, and by now, with the help of their euphoric live shows, they were beginning to pick up a fevered fanbase. Emboldened by this early success, they self-released their debut album Cannibals With Cutlery in 2013 until they were signed by Xtra Mile, a label with a track record in aligning DIY mavericks with mainstream success, later that year. “We’d taken it as far as we could by ourselves by the point Xtra Mile stepped in,” says Ralph. “We did stuff like the Scala but Xtra Mile were able to open doors in the States and Europe. Xtra Mile understand how we work as a band so they’ve just trusted us to get on with it.”

As the label got behind the band with a full re-release of Cannibals With Cutlery, Pelleymounter cracked on with mapping out the band’s next move. The band’s sound was already evolving in a bid to match the thumping thrills of their live shows. By the time it came to begin work on their next album, Pelleymounter had two and a half years worth of songs to draw on. There was to be no difficult second record situations. They had been on the road for the best part of two years and were full of confidence. “We knew what we were doing, and it was great to make an album with that clear knowledge,” says Pelleymounter. “On reflection, the first album does sound like a debut. This is the band coming into its stride.”

They are a tight unit of close friends and the band is run by a diplomatic voting system. “If there’s a vote, that’s that,” says Pelleymounter. Each member is integral to the dynamic of the group, though Pelleymounter says he has “too many frown lines” from organizing things and making sure everyone’s ok. He is the mother and the father of the group. “Someone’s gotta be making sure it’s all rolling,” he says.

After the traditional method of writing the first album all in a room, this time the band were emailing demos to each other and arriving with fully-formed ideas of where to take the songs. There was more piano and more electric guitars, whilst electronic beats used in early demos eventually found themselves being utilised in final versions. Produced by long-term collaborator Mark Crew and the band’s Ben Jackson, it was recorded all over: there were sessions at the Distillery in the West Country, a studio at the top of the hill in Wiltshire, and there were also stints at Crew’s basement studio in Battersea and late night sessions at Pelleymounter’s flat. “There’s a nice mix between the lo-fi and high-end,” says Pelleymounter. “The album has a fast pace, nipping in and out and it has a sonic journey.”

Just as the idea of living in the here and now is at the centre of Oh My Love, it’s also the message at the core of the charming penultimate track World Of Joy, which contains a list of ways to make your life better. Pelleymounter mentions Eels’ deceptively upbeat Mr E’s Beautiful Blues as a reference point. Grace At A Party, a song about bumping into your ex at a party, is a glorious mesh of spidery guitar riffs and jagged synths, Compare Scars is an exultant opener, and the irrepressible Love Is Not Control matches intricate licks with an anthemic stomp. From The Chancer and School Yard Rumours to The Rakes Progress (Good Times) and Today, every song here is testament to their knack of matching melodious hooks to rejuvenating grooves. Pelleymounter’s soulful, charismatic croon fits in like another instrument. There isn’t a chorus here that goes by without taking you with it. Similarly, there’s no meandering, no toilet-break middle-eights. “Everything is very considered,” says Pelleymounter. “There’s no extended bits. It’s tight, 11 tracks and most of them are about 3 minutes. It’s that sort of record.”

Drummer Josh’s dad Warren features on the striking cover art, creating a mirror image of an old picture Josh found of his father at home. The original photo of the younger Warren was taken in the mid-‘50s, when Warren was the same age as Josh is now, 24.

To Kill A King is a statement record. The reason it’s self-titled is to underline the fact that this is a new start. This is the band’s Year Zero. Anything is possible. The people who wrote the first album have changed so much, says the singer. When the band began, they never imagined they would be able to play the venues that they now inhabit. But now their sights are set and To Kill A king are writing songs of scope and scale to match new ambitions. “This album reflects the audience numbers we’re playing to,” he says. “These are songs designed to be played on a bigger stage.” Everything is in place for To Kill A King to make the leap. Watch them soar.

To Kill A King is released 2^nd March 2015 on Xtra Mile Recordings