Live: To Kill A King, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
- Written by Peri Daley
It is a pleasure to see To Kill A King perform at Brudenell Social Club. A petite but amazing venue, watching anyone perform here can feel so personal and special, it is like they are performing just for you. And that’s exactly what To Kill A King make you feel.
An energetic set ironically filled with lyrically depressing songs, the boys dun’ well. It takes a lot for bands to be good not only in the studio, but live also, and TKAK have consistently delivered both. Brudenell should be packed to the rafters because of this, but the venue is less populated then would be expected. Fortunately though, this provides an opportunity for the charming Ralph Pelleymounter to summon the lucky crowd toward the stage, where they are treated to a beautiful track list. 'Funeral' is a personal favorite - an surprisingly uplifting track given its name, which gets the whole crowd going. Lyrics like "I must make more friends, so they’ll be hanging at my funeral, just to make my parents proud" are screamed from every nook and cranny in the place. It’s nice to think that even at our funerals, we can still make our parents proud.
These guys are excellent with words; every song sticks in your mind with a familiar lyric that many can relate to. 'Fictional State' gives us "It was causing an effect, you said you’d kill it, you haven’t yet" – words made more powerful by the instruments stopping and Pelleymounter’s strong voice reaches over to you. 'Choices', is a floaty acoustic number that gradually builds to the soaring melodic and eminently memorable finish, "and I have the same choices as you do, as you do and you fall, fall like I knew you would".
The only downside to the night was the chitter-chatter coming from the crowd, it was annoying that people were having such shouty conversations throughout the set. To finish was an entirely acoustic, instrument free track, which demonstrated exactly how good these guys voices are. We’re astonished that these guys aren’t as big as they should be. With effortless charm and perfect stage banter, these guys are definitely one to watch.