The Kingsize Duo

By A. Chow

The Good Fight

The Bad Night

Rare is it that we come across a record that we immediately find ourselves looking to one another with a smile on our faces. Rare is it even more that we get two EPs from the same band. Double our pleasure! Double our fun! Ok that was a bad cultural (*ahem* Chris Brown) reference...

LA based Kingsize are breaking out onto the music scene with a neat new marketing plan. Instead of the usual six track EP that indie bands release, Kingsize is releasing The Good Fight and its “dirty” sister of an album The Bad Night on March 24. You get two EP’s both with its own attitude, The Bad Night sounding exactly as its described - a dirty version of The Good Fight with heavy riffs, a Zeppelin-ish scratch and a late 70’s rock appeal.

Even before the release of the duo EP’s, Kingsize has already managed to make its way onto the desks of decision makers and movers. Having formed only a little over a year ago, Kingsize has managed to grab the attention of Tom Carolan (Stone Temple Pilots and snagged him as their manager. They also grace television screens weekly as the opening theme song to the CBS sitcom starring Jay Mohr, Gary Unmarried.

With those badges of success I wasn’t sure what to expect with the EPs, but I quickly found myself nodding my head and picturing their songs to make their way onto a future version of Rock Band. Tracks like Stolen Cigarettes and Drug Run (No Fun) are catchy with a 90’s British rock vibe a la Blur. The Bad Night winds down with one of our favourites, the melodic ballad Tourniquet Queen - a nice surprise from the previous five solid through and through classic rock tracks. Jason Thomas Gordon’s usual frenetic vocal style is set aside in place of a calm and almost seductive tone for Queen.

Miss America, the first single off The Good Fight, has an upbeat, punkish feel, similar to that of Good Charlotte without the sugary veneer. A great way to set the tone for the band, but definitely not the track to base your impressions on. The Good Fight has a variety of tracks, from the single to the sexy Sweetheart, I’m Only Stopping to Start to the emotional House On Fire.

Our preference between the two EPs is currently leaning towards The Good Fight. The tracks feel a little more tightly pulled together over The Bad Night and seem more thematically connected as an album. Without doubt, there are great tracks from both EPs, but the one downfall to the records is its slight lack of cohesion. I feel a need to rearrange the tracks in my playlist to create more of a balanced flow. Regardless, we still highly recommend checking out both The Bad Night and The Good Fight, two refreshing new rock albums that stay well away from clichés while maintaining a nostalgic quality to it.

Release Date: March 24, 2009