CD Review: The King of France

The King of France, the band, is actually quite a bit like the French. It's probably better to listen to the band after a couple bottles of French wine,who have a few redeeming qualities, but probably aren't suited for (music) world domination quite yet.

On its sophomore release, the three-man band from New York manage to do quite a few things right. Originality isn't the question here; they are able to simultaneously sound like a combination of the Barenaked Ladies and Modest Mouse trying to cover a Coldplay tune. However, the problems begin to pop up there. The lyrics are too silly to be taken seriously, yet too stupid to be funny. There is nothing to laugh at and also nothing to take seriously.
So maybe we can excuse this. King of France is just a hip indie band, right? And, despite the fact that they are featured in every MTV "Real World Austin" promotional commercial, they have a song placed in the also hip indie movie "The Baxter."

Unfortunately, although the collection of songs here are best described with words like "frenetic" and "edgy," neither of those terms necessarily translates into a more important one: "good."
Occasionally, things come together for King of France, which is the most enjoyable and most frustrating aspect of the album. For example, the dark and brooding "Moon," despite its lounge-lizard vibe, is able to stay on an even keel throughout, creating one of the most listenable tracks. It also allows the bands pop sensibility to shine through, employing an "ah-ah-ah-ooh" hook during the chorus. Similarly, the opening track "Mexico" rides its bouncy piano from start to finish, creating a decent pop song along the way.
These songs prove that King of France can play interesting music when they don't shy away from getting peoples heads to nod or hands to clap or get lost in trying to do things no one else is doing.

But the rest of the album quickly crawls back into the "boring" and "quirky" categories just as quickly as it hopped out, creating nothing of relevance for the listener.
Bands like King of France can't simply rely on their "outsider" status to establish credibility. It's also possible to be outside of the mainstream and create songs that people can attach themselves to and care about. It's almost as if someone forgot to tell the band that the soundtrack to "Garden State" already came out, having been released last year.

Obviously, King of France is comprised of talented musicians that have the ability to craft some interesting tunes — and occasionally a few fine ones.
The opening track states, "I'm going to Mexico and I'm never coming back." The band shouldn't, at least until they can figure out exactly who they want to be.
Grade: C

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 6, 2005.