No More Kings\' music video for their single "Sweep the Leg" first drew me to their music. Reuniting the majority of the original cast from The Karate Kid, the video re-imagines the outcome of that fateful fight when Daniel-san fought the Cobra Kai leader Johnny. Even if the video wasn\'t enough to catch your attention, the pure rock gold of the album seals the deal.
No More Kings has an astonishing sense of humor and an eye for pop-culture satire. Making references to The Karate Kid, Peanuts, Knight Rider and even the literature classic Gulliver\'s Travels, the music of No More Kings combines a truly unique rock sound with catchy, clever and just plain inspiring lyrics. What do you expect though when the band\'s very name comes from a classic School House Rock song about America\'s emancipation?
The first track "Zombie Me," one of the simpler tracks, meanders melodically as the lyrics recount the death of a young man and his transformation into a zombie. Of course, then you have "Sweep The Leg" which screams musical greatness with a single that plays over and over in your head. If you\'re of the late 1970s or early 1980s crowd (meaning you were present for the cinematic debut of the greatness that is The Karate Kid) this song is oodles of fun to listen to:
I was a Super Hero / King of 1985 / I showed no mercy / I was always Cobra Kai.
I love it.
"Michael (Jump In)" makes reference to good ol\' Knight Rider from the perspective of the fantastical talking car K.I.T.T. On top of making use of 1980s pop culture, the song uses a great choral effect with bouncy guitars that keep the toes tapping and the body convulsing in rock ecstasy.
Perhaps the greatest element of No More Kings\' self-titled album is the range of musical genres. While "Sweep The Leg" tackles the rock section, the album features other tracks like "Grand Experiment" which takes on a slight tinge of country and folk songs like "Girl in the Sea" harkening back to tales of mermaids and heartache.
No More Kings has produced a tremendous album that I recommend to anyone who doubts that modern rock has anywhere new to turn. This album gives me hope for the future of the genre. This is essentially what I hoped the sophomore album of Maroon 5 would sound like. Any album that can blend clever references to pop culture while maintaining a high standard of musical integrity ranks high in my book. I haven\'t purchased an album from a retail outlet in over two years - yet No More Kings made me break that streak. It\'s that good.
If you won\'t buy it without hearing a sample, then check out the video of "Sweep the Leg" on YouTube. The pure awesome embodied by the song and video will win you over.
It sure as hell got me.
"No More Kings" is on sale March 16, 2007 from Astonish Records.
