New Town Kings – Pull Up & Rewind (Out O8/12/2014 via Bomber Music)
Pleased again to hear a fresh release by Essex-based nine-piece which emphatically blend traditional Jamaican styles, with UK filtered bite, especially live. This four-track EP, ‘Pull Up & Rewind’, demonstrates just a small selection of their attacking arsenal. These days further updated, than when WithGuitars really enjoyed their Guilfest tented live performance, fair to say things have moved on for the Reggae-ska collective. So it’s happy days then, New Town Kings release new ‘Pull Up & Rewind’ EP on 8th December. Hailing from New Town, Colchester, the Kings have recently completed an action-packed summer festival run, including performing at the likes of Boomtown Fair and Rebellion Punk Music Festival.
Arguably ‘Change’ represents more of that edge aforementioned, a politically-fuelled rant, kickstarts the EP in ”determined fashion”, taking little time in showing what the New Town Kings are all about. the narrative is heat & soul delivered, an anti-corporate stance for some good reasons is always of appeal, add strong bass rhythms, a brass section to envy, guitars and percussion in sync for an effective opener. ‘Luna Rosa’ that follows demonstrates time has only added more good colours to their music, seductive and solid reliable, ‘grab my hand’ a laid-back reggae love ballad, with pumped added brass touches.
The concluding track, ‘Cool The Pressure Down’, speaks of calmness in the face of aggression. Typical! just a little too late, if I had ‘Cool The Pressure Down’, on my iPod on the last anti-fascist march things would have gone a little better perhaps. This fine rocksteady number is a guaranteed toe-tapper, a beguiling finale. Hard to find fault with either New Town Kings plan or vision for the ‘Pull Up & Rewind’ EP, their sound is more versatile, adept and accomplished as a result. 8.5/10
Steve Janes
@newtownkings