Greetings dearest gentle readers and music lovers, let’s welcome King in Yellow to our digital space. King In Yellow is a band that originated in Kingston, New York, and represents a strong love for a variety of musical genres and the transformational potential of music. Kyle Mcdonough and Nick Vining founded the band, which takes its cues from classic albums like “Funhouse” by The Stooges and the sounds of the Manchester scene in the early 1980s. Inspired by bands like Sonic Youth, The Pixies, and U2, King In Yellow creates a sound that is all their own thanks to the skills of Kyle, Nick, Mickey, and Garin. On 25th October, the band released a four-song EP called “Dark Passengers”. Let’s talk more about it

The first song on the EP is titled “Lucid Dream”. The song opens with a big burst of energy that will attract you instantly. Now for a little context, lucid dreaming is when you find yourself conscious and self-aware in a dream. The character in the song seems to have a companion in his dream or is following someone in a dream, seeing as he asks the person where they are off to in the dream(“Do you know where you’re going to?”). The vocal performance is very charming and the instrumentation is on fire. This song does a perfect job of opening the EP since we know just from this song that the band did not come to play

Next is the song is the EP’s namesake “Dark Passengers”. The song opens with stripped-down dramatic guitar sounds. The character in the song expresses how he feels like he has other inhabitants in his body aside from himself(“dark passengers in my body”) and how they are ruining things for him. The song’s tempo picks up and so does the vocal performance and becomes a full-on rock song and a song you can rock out to

Next is the song “Hand in Fan”. An exciting drum beat welcomes you to the song before a guitar sound is added to it. This song has a charming allure to it besides the fact that you can dance to it or in my case put it on and jump around and play it on repeat after it ends

The last song on the EP is called “Desire Path”. The song is country-infused but also still very much a rock anthem. In the song, the character mentions a desired path and gives three options on what to do with this desired path. The song reiterates the fact that we make our own path and are in charge of our lives and our destiny. The instrumentation is foot-tapping and the vocal performance is superb and passionate which will be so thrilling to hear live. The EP started with a bang and also ended with a bang.

The EP draws inspiration from influences like The Smiths, Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, and more, delving into themes of alienation, loss, meditating on feelings of depression and grief.  I felt safe to think about these sensitive issues because the band created a safe space with these songs to blow off steam while processing these profound feelings. I consider myself a fan of Kings in Yellow now and I cannot wait to experience more of their music

Stream “Dark Passengers” on Spotify  or SoundCloud

Follow King In Yellow on their socials; Instagram, YouTube, Bandcamp