Live: To Kill A King @ Deaf Institute

To Kill a King
Deaf Institute
27 February
3 stars

A slicked-back hair, Topman shirt-wearing buzz has emerged around London-based To Kill a King in the last few months since the release of their latest EP, My Crooked Saint. This quintet have been climbing the London folk-indie pop scene’s ladder and can boast a one-off single ‘Fictional State’, released on Ben (Mumford & Sons)’s record label Communion in May of last year. It would be unwarranted and languid to place TKaK in the same musical genre pie chart that Mumford & Sons hold a monopolistic slice, but one can easily observe the musical crossovers.

That same proverbial buzz seems to have reached our very own Deaf Institute tonight and, probably, would have been largely disappointed by support band Stella Marconi. One cannot fault these four young musicians in their attempts to win over a rather unimpressed crowd, but they could have at least changed their trousers before making their way to sound check straight after school. SM ploughed through cheerful acoustic renditions of grunge tracks ‘Moan’ and ‘False Prophet’, and on to the political punk influenced ‘Cult of Celebrity’, worthy of one Billy Bragg. Despite their uncharismatic presence, the set held plenty of song writing substance and strong potential for this young group of misfits.

To Kill a King’s set was very warmly received by a crowd stood with jaws glued to the floor and eyes fixated on the fantastically named vocalist, Ralph Pelleymounter, as his heart-felt lyrics gently caressed the prevailing microphone. The set merged older tracks such as ‘Fictional State’, reminiscent of The National, with newer upbeat indie pop tracks such as ‘Blood Shirt’. After crashing through the crowd-pleaser ‘Funeral’, TKaK ended on a great performance of ‘Family’. If they continue to produce songs of this magnitude, the future looks bright for these London boys.

To Kill A King – Bloody Shirt (City Sessions)