Alvarez Kings – Patience Is Strength EP
Well, if these boys haven’t been caning the entire Hot Hot Heat back-catalogue of late it’ll be hats for supper. This said, to its credit, their Rapture -esque “You, Me, Them, Us” is a good stab at the punk-funk genre, accordingly full of elbows and lager-fuelled herky-jerk. The problem is that just as Is Tropical ‘s 2011 nu-raving LP Native To finds itself firmly out of time, so too is Alvarez Kings ‘ new Patience Is Strength EP.
With neither time nor invention on their side, and despite the best efforts of the abovementioned “You, Me, Them, Us”, Alvarez Kings thus struggle to stamp any sort of identity onto their chosen medium unlike, say, fellow Yorkies ¡Forward, Russia! who used to fuse their brand of dance-punk with a dash of admirable hardcore.
As a result, the EP’s title track finds itself as linear indie rock, and it’s only saved from Artic landfill comparisons by Paul Thompson ‘s unique vocal enthusiasm that pushes it closer to a “Bandages”-lite bracket. On the other hand, indie nightclub beginners will likely party their patterned socks off to “Dark Eyed Childred” – others may simply label it Cribs -ianially questionable.
Closing the EP, the bouncy cut “The Sequel” reignites earlier Hot Hot Heat comparisons, but also general feelings of so-what. Before it, the Kings Of Leon -like, MOR rocker “Funeral Reunion” soldiers on with a restraint elsewhere absent, but ultimately to little effect.
Rewind six years to when Alvarez Kings’ first EP came out and, in that period, attacked with this level of unabashed (if misplaced) confidence, they might have been onto something in terms of minor unit shifting. It turns out then that it’s a good job they’ve got patience, because it’ll take some strength to see this one to success.
~Patience Is Strength is out now on Of National Importance Records .~