The Push Kings
Feel No Fade
Le Grand Magistery
The third (or fourth?) full-length from the Push Kings… and it makes me wonder how long they can keep up this streak. The numbering confusion comes from the fact that Feel No Fade contains the entirety of last year’s self-released Push Kings, an eight track wonder which is expanded with a few new full-length tracks and a handful of shortish musical bumpers into nearly an hour of pop perfection.
While Feel No Fade has been produced by four different people — including heavyweight John Porter (The Smiths, Billy Bragg) – The Push Kings’ signature sound provides a seamless shaft of sunshine to unite the album. Describing their sound as golden melodies, lush harmonies, power guitar riffing, and a solid rhythm section may not sound too exciting, but nonetheless, The Push Kings’ hooks and lyrics are the kind that gently float around your mind, settling in like a down comforter on a chilly night.
Take for example the opening track, “Summer Trippin’.” Strummy acoustic guitar provides a suitable background for setting up images of mid-year roadtrips – toenails on the dashboard, the haze of truckstop lights – before powering in with great chunks of fuzz and a plucky guitar riff. The sound is nowhere near new, but it’s definitely not dated, as the Push Kings execute it to timeless perfection. Others, like “Beat Girl (And Me)” and “Hello, I Don’t Even Know My Name” have a bit more electronic presence, melding little rhythmic bits and touches with traditional guitar-drum-bass-three-part-harmony. An untitled closing track is a gentle wash of sound, adrift in some pleasant dream.
The Push Kings remain one of the most consistently great bands I’ve heard in the last decade. Originally from Boston, they’ve since relocated to LA, and while this album clearly shows a more commercial bent, there is little compromise to be found. They clearly have a natural feel for the pop song, that blast of sound between three and five minutes that flawlessly balances song, lyrics, musicianship and the unexpected. Totally, completely and unreservedly recommended…
Le Grand Magistery: http://www.magistery.com
