New Town Kings: Pull Up & Rewind

Artist: New Town Kings
Title: Pull Up & Rewind
Format Reviewed: MP3
Format Released: 13th July 2014
Reviewed By: Dan Stoten

A taster for their forthcoming third album, the newly-energised New Town Kings (from one of England's new towns, Colchester, funny that...) release Pull Up & Rewind, a four-track EP of sunny, traditional-tinged, ska vibes.

One of the best live bands on the UK underground circuit, the nine-piece have been through a fair amount of line-up changes in the last year or so, but they now appear to have settled and new frontman Dabs brings a deliciously smooth vocal to the sunny vibes behind him.

The EP opens with Change. The promotional material we received with the EP mentions New Town Kings' increased political message, and this is absolutely the case right away, the opening refrain of Change being "half the population is hungry". The track overall has a much deeper, more mature groove to it than previous NTK efforts. This isn't a bad thing, however, as the lyrical content of the song suits the pace and tone superbly, and the bassline here is absolutely luscious. It's a good opener to the EP and leaves the listener wanting more.

Second track Luna Rosa drops into a much more bouncy two-tone rhythm after a classic ska opening. It's a really smooth track, a late night in a dark club groove. Dabs' vocal here flitters up and down over the bassline, providing the spotlights to that late night / dark club simile. It's not an immediately catchy track but once again shows how NTK have matured and developed as a band in the recent future.

Within the first twenty seconds of Grabbed My Hand, the words "ohhh YES" had escaped my lips, and a huge grin had spread across my face. This is a special track, one which immediately grabs you and hooks you. Once again a simply gorgeous bassline leads the song, and complements the seventies' reggae feel perfectly. Dabs' vocal again raises the bar here, with some stunning mellow melodies sliding smoothly over the sun-soaked reggae. It's an instant five-star track and shows the New Town Kings have got a lot more to their repertoire.

Final track Cool The Pressure Down to me splices the two styles, with another deep bassline leading over a faster, ska'd up rhythm. Again you've got some awesome melodies here and a perfect early-evening with a Red Stripe song...

Pull Up & Rewind is a real tease of an EP, with the final two tracks in particular really leaving me desperate for more. The EP shows New Town Kings in a more mature and grown-up light, and a light into which I can see them stepping confidently. This is a very strong EP and one you should grab when it hits the shops!




Pull Up & Rewind is available through Bomber Music on 12" vinyl and digital release from 13th July. New Town Kings tour with The Slackers from 7th July, as well as playing a host of festivals this summer, including Nozstock, Rebellion, Boomtown and Undercover.