Kings Go Forth

Based on the high-energy, big-band soul sound of its early singles, Kings Go Forth was immediately pegged as another retro R&B outfit stubbornly committed to disregarding anything that’s happened in the genre since 1973. The group quickly pushed back against the tag, playing up the Latin and Jamaican music influences that are suddenly much more apparent on its debut full-length, The Outsiders Are Back. Just as the punchy drums, brassy vocals, and drama-packed arrangements of “One Day” and “Don’t Take My Shadow” were ideally suited for the boredom-defying 12-inch that preceded it, the polyrhythmic mid-tempo groove that dominates The Outsiders Are Back requires two sides of long-playing vinyl to fully appreciate. Here’s hoping that said grooves continue over to the new record the band’s currently writing.

Updated 01/11/2011