Time for a little magic my friends, today I have a band who were formed a year before lockdown, at which time nobody knew how our lives would be changed forever. King Voodoo worked on their music, oblivious to the calamity that awaited us all, they shaped their image, their sound and their personalities, and what you have here is the final product, created out of untold anxiety and misery that was heaped onto us unexpectedly. The cover art reminds me of the Creeper debut ‘Eternity In Your Arms’ with the purple hues, a little Anime too, delighting in some night time Gothic meanderings.
Starting with the single ‘Believe In You’ it’s quite funky and groovy, a bit of a disco vibe too, rock music you can dance to. I get a taste of Black Stone Cherry on ‘Whiskey Drive’ those passionate and pronounced guitars, leading the songs, destined for greatness.
King Voodoo are Ian Johnson – guitars, Jamie Suffield – vocals, Joshua Carvell – bass and Matty Biggs on drums and together they fly the flag for the already musically gifted Liverpool, a working class city that wears its heart on its sleeve, known for being friendly and welcoming. The album ‘Hex City’ is an upbeat model of Modern Rock, it has honesty and inclusion at its heart, giving our younger artists a chance at achieving their dreams. The band inject a bit of voodoo love to adrenalise an industry that is known for its erratic and spontaneous and sometimes insane behaviours.
‘Sleep’ is another example of the huge part that the guitars and bass play in rock, it is a feature that is important to how the song sounds and feels when it is complete. With the pop infused ‘Fight It Out’ at the end, you get a hint of the synth bands, the contrast is nicely crafted and positioned perfectly.
We party on with the lads, each tune is a charm offensive, wanting your attention and your support. It is an easy on the ears album, smooth, clean vocals, the compositions arranged to attract and maintain interest. The penultimate track ‘Sweet Loneliness’ is an 80’s throwback, I am reminded of bands like Then Jerico, a wholesome and endearing band that captured our hearts at the time, King Voodoo bring a similar beauty and engagement. With confirmed slots at upcoming festivals, the next one is State Of Mind on 5th August, raising money for the mental health charity Mind, a worthwhile endeavour as we are still nowhere near addressing this deeply troubling issue. A busy festival calendar to November and you could say the future is bright, the future is voodoo.
Azra Pathan
King Voodoo – Hex City out now.