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JFH Music Review


Kings Kaleidoscope, 'Kings Kaleidoscope'
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Kings Kaleidoscope
Kings Kaleidoscope



Artist Info: Discography
Genre(s): Alt Pop
Album length: 9 tracks: 27 minutes, 13 seconds
Street Date: August 11, 2023


READER RATING:   


In 2019, Zeal effectively cemented Kings Kaleidoscope as one of my absolute favorite acts. The album contained some of the band's best work, featuring evocative songwriting and storytelling, complemented by tight instrumentation and singable melodies. 2022's post-Covid Baptized Imagination showed the band had been through some heavy times, but that same spirit of Zeal was alive and well despite the darker tone. This left me with high hopes for their promised self-titled album - even more so when the release date got pushed back so Chad Gardner and company could tighten it up. How does Kings Kaleidoscope stack up to the expectations? Well...

I want to start by saying that Kings K has once again done a lot of what they do well. The eight proper songs are all highly enjoyable to listen to, begging to be put on repeat and featuring superb musicianship with a great deal of ingenuity and experimentation. "Radiant Reason" is an immediate highlight; in the fashion of 2017's The Beauty Between, the song is built on a smooth hip-hop groove with an attractive bass line and some '90s pop influence for extra flavor. "Infinity" comes out of the gate strong as my favorite track, with addictive synths and loads of guitars with various interesting effects, even feeling a bit euphoric at times. I love that Kings K load up their songs with layers of gorgeous sounds, utilizing synth, brass, and extra percussion to fill the songs while knowing full well when too much is too much.

The album also features three pre-release singles that were released at various times in the last year and a half: "Forever Again," "Story," and "All the Emotions," the last of which was slightly redone to add in new parts, giving the listener something extra to close it out. Having spent time enjoying the singles as standalone songs, it has been nice to finally hear them in context and to discover that they were good indicators of what Kings K would be bringing to the table this time around.

Unfortunately, the album doesn't quite stand up to the rest of the band's discography. The main detractor is that Kings Kaleidoscope lacks an overarching narrative, which is typically a key component to a Kings K album. Whether said narrative is the excitement and rush of a relationship with God (Zeal) or the journey from doubt and uncertainty to a renewed sense of awe in God's goodness and mercy (Baptized Imagination), there's always been something more to sink your teeth into. Obviously, that's not imperative to crafting a great album, but it's something we've come to expect from this band of incredibly talented, creative artists. To simply receive eight individual songs with no apparent major connection, well-written though they may be, is a minor letdown. (In all fairness, this is their second album in less than a year, so it's possible that they just wanted to give fans a little something extra, just for the sake of it.)

Having said all that, it should be made clear that the songs aren't completely disconnected from each other. Several of the songs act as uplifting love letters, like "Story," which seems to be from the perspective of talking to someone who needs a reminder of the value God places on us ("You're in town, not around / I've been waiting for you now, let it out / take me into your eyes / I can see your heart cries / see the moon in the clouds / we can sit under the stars in the garden / tell me where your ghost hides / we can talk with no time"). Some listeners may take offense at the mild language in the song, but it's only the word "h*ll," and the song is nonetheless encouraging, as Gardner sings, "You don't need a different story / Heaven only holds us broken as h*ll / living in a tale of glory / it's a miracle becoming yourself / you're a miracle now." And though the album isn't explicitly Christian (the Lord's name isn't mentioned at any point), there are multiple songs that are clearly declarations of faith in God's love, like "Forever Again" and "Radiant Reason." Then there's "Infinity," which poignantly states, "Stop, wait, speak straight, come again / help me find the signs in all the lines You're coloring / it's a mystery, and I want to see / deep into the valley of Your shadow-covering / chasing the riptides / facing the fallout / I surrender now ... I wander, but I want You more / infinity is just the floor / no matter what I'm searching for / I love You more than my reasons why."

At the end of the day, Kings Kaleidoscope have never released a bad album, and their self-titled project is no exception. It doesn't hit the way I expected, and it's understandable that some may be underwhelmed by it. But if we look at it for what it is - a collection of eight songs from an excellent band (following an album that was meant to be taken as a whole, with only one or two individual tracks that could stand on their own) - it becomes easier to find the beauty in it. I'm definitely looking forward to something a bit more cohesive in the future, but in the meantime, Kings Kaleidoscope will spend a good amount of time in my ears.

- Review date: 8/10/23, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com



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JFH Staff's Second Opinion



The new Self-Titled Kings Kaleidoscope is a frustrating record. In fact, despite the nine tracks, much like Baptized Imagination released less than a year ago, it feels dangerously close to being better classified as an EP. At the slim runtime of less than twenty-eight minutes across nine tracks, it feels like something is missing. I'm not sure how, but it feels shorter than that. Perhaps it's that four of the nine songs were released as singles and three of them have been available for five months or more. Additionally, we get a fragmented set of songs that are certainly well-produced but lack any real discernible theme or connective tissue. There's just not as much to dig into lyrically. That said, "Radiant Reason" is a jam and the hands-down best song on the tracklist. "Infinity" and "All the Emotions" also stand out as highlights. I'm happy to report that the mood of the album is unmistakably upbeat despite some rough years recently for principal lyricist Chad Gardner. Knowing his struggles with anxiety and mental health, this is a welcome thing. However, beyond the three aforementioned songs, I can't help but wonder, "Where's the meat?" Ultimately, while it's hard to bemoan a band not living up to their stellar back catalog, any Kings Kaleidoscope record is worth listening to and should be given a shot. All in all, I plan to stick with it to see if it's an album that will grow on me as a few of theirs have been. - Review date: 8/12/23, Josh Balogh of Jesusfreakhideout.com

 

. Record Label: Rainbow Records
. Album length: 9 tracks: 27 minutes, 13 seconds
. Street Date: August 11, 2023
. Buy It: kampkaleidoscope.com

  1. You & Me Together (0:36)
  2. Alright Kid (2:37)
  3. Forever Again (2:02)
  4. Radiant Reason (4:02)
  5. 123 Fantasy (3:26)
  6. Infinity (3:43)
  7. Story (3:32)
  8. All The Emotions (4:15)
  9. Kings Kaleidoscope (3:04)

 

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