Maverick album review by Chris High
King King
Maverick
Channel 9 Music
November 6, 2020
It may be twenty-four hours late, but November 6th sees King King are releasing one firecracker of an album in Maverick! An out-and-out belter of an album that places the Glasgow giants firmly at the top of the tree, there is not one single makeweight to be had amongst these ten diamond encrusted beauties. Produced by Alan Nimmo, Jonny Dyke and Liam McCluskey at Morsecode Studios in Glasgow, Maverick highlights the very best of what this band are about and provides more than a few surprises along the way.
Right from the off, the band are straight into it with Never Give In. If this doesn’t open the rearranged tour taking place in 2021, I’ll eat my proverbial hat. A scene setter for that which is to come, Never Give In has the energy King King are known for and then some: a veritable powder keg all set to explode the moment it is played.
It was 2017 when King King released Exile & Grace to all around plaudits and applause. Now with the addition of Stevie Nimmo – Lead Guitarist and Vocalist Alan’s brother – to the ranks, what is clear and obvious is that as a collective here is a band that leaps from strength to strength with each passing album.
King King are undoubtedly at their best when they are rocking it out. Here, I Will Fall will have feet tapping, hands clapping and voices yelling across the land and it’s also fabulous to hear Alan’s voice bang on form. The mixed backing harmonies, too, add a resonance and depth that is as refreshing as it is subtle. Never more are these two aspects more beautifully delivered than on When My Winter Comes. A song with heartachingly beautiful lyrics, a solo piano backing and an emotive delivery from the big man up front, this is the track of the album by a nose.
Everything Will Be Alright is a feel good number, riddled with a solid blues vibe and a smile in its heart that positively shines. Jonny Dyke’s supreme keyboard work adds sublime layering, with Zander Greenshield’s bass and Andrew Scott’s drums providing the ever sturdy, unfaltering foundations upon which the sum of the whole is constructed.
Dance Together is another epic crowd pleaser sure to destroy more than a few aisles across the country once this current situation is resolved, whereas I Will Not Fall has a funk feel that will be familiar but fresh, exciting and invigorating.
All in all Maverick is a glorious addition to the King King pantheon and is a sure fire signifier that even the very best can become even better.
ALBUM TRACK LISTING
Never Give In
Fire In My Soul
Whatever It Takes To Survive
I Will Not Fall
By Your Side
One World
Everything Will Be Alright
When My Winter Comes
Dance Together
End Of The Line
King King release their upcoming album ‘Maverick’ to Friday 6th November 2020. The album is released on Channel 9 Music – King King’s new independent label. The 10-track album, released on CD, vinyl and various bundles.
