Perth's King Blue leave us 'Breathless' with new smooth indie groove
Perth indie-groovers King Blue have released a stunning fourth single, inspired by their collective life experience, aptly titles, ‘Breathless’. The single shifts towards a more nuanced approach, rather than the previously more surf-rock sounds.
The song is packed with pop sensibility and smooth harmonies, with an overall smooth, polished sound.
‘Breathless’ feels like a much larger song than the sub-three minute run time suggests. Outside of vocalist Skye Sam’s silky vocal (with a hint of Ocker) takes, the real MVP in this song is that bass line, bouncing from supporting the vocal melody, to its own little groove, before sitting tight in the pocket for the chorus. The guitars are typically shimmery for this type of coastal indie rock, but there’s still a little bite there, when they’re not awash with delay or wah. It’s definitely a track in the same vein as Spacey Jane and Ocean Alley, but with a little more groove than the former, and a tad less swagger than the latter.
Of the track, the band explain their different approach to song crafting for ‘Breathless’.
“We’re steering in the direction of indie pop yet still try to incorporate some elements within our songs for the headbangers out there. Skye’s delicate yet powerful vocals are complemented by the backbone beat, catchy leads and funky rhythmic bass, altogether creating a sound that we really love.” King Blue.
Working with Western Australian Music award winning producer & engineer Andy Lawson (Tired Lion, Eskimo Joe, Gyroscope) out of his ionic Debaser Studio, the band were able to write collaboratively with themselves before bringing the final demo to Andy. With ‘Breathless’ starting life as a mere guitar sketch, the band then added vocals, to figure out the hooks & structure. From there they beefed it out with layers of shimmering guitars and a pulsating rhythm section. With Andy Lawson drawing the best from the band sonically, Grammy-award winning mastering engineer William Bowden (The Living End, Gotye, Spacey Jane) took the reins to add a polish to the track, completing ‘Breathless’.
“Our process of creating usually starts with a guitar sketch which we then add vocals to. After we have that as our bones for the song, we start to build and beef it out until we find some structure and it begins to feel cohesive and flow as a song. Instrumentally and lyrically, most of the music we create really depends on what’s happening in our lives at the time. It helps us to express our current or past experiences in the way that we know best.” King Blue.
With a swelling fan base, King Blue are on the precipice of highlighting themselves as a WA artist to watch in 2022. Having previously shared stages with San Cisco, Death By Denim, The Rions & Caravana Sun, they’ve cut their teeth in front of large audiences, who did not leave disappointed. With 65,000+ streams on previous single ‘Games’, King Blue are eager and ready for their chance to share ‘Breathless’ with audiences across the country.
You can stream ‘Breathless’ right now via all digital platforms.
Related articles
