King's Daughters and Sons - If Then Not When

King's Daughters and Sons - Landing somewhere near the blurry nexus of pastoral folk/rock, capacious, riff-heavy post/rock and moody, atmospheric chamber/folk, the Louisville-based amalgam of various members of local bands merged their talents for this mostly somber, darkly dramatic collection // Release: If Then Not When (November 22, Chemikal Underground) // Sounds like: Atmospheric, expansive epics that belie their prodigious heft with a down-to-earth attitude and stark, gimmick-free production...the roots are firmly grounded in the shadows of mood-driven folk songs, murder ballads and the artsy side of campfire Americana while the songs grow and build with a slow, languid intensity...

Quote: “We could be really loud when we wanted to, and really quiet. Creepy and pretty, loud and quiet, and how can those things kind of operate together, you know? Soft and quiet parts that are really pretty, and soft and quiet parts that are uncomfortable. That’s a cool dynamic.” -- Joe Manning of KD&S // What we like: the glorious riffs that emerge and eventually ring with a chiming power in the seven-minute "Sleeping Colony"...the entwined voices of Manning and Rachel Grimes in the stately, slow-motion "Arc of the Absentees"...the otherworldly mood of "The Anniversary" has an almost Dead-like rambling jam quality, piano chords, drum splashes and intricately picked guitar lines converging and then splitting apart in an extended instrumental drift...

 

King's Daughters & Sons - "Sleeping Colony" (from If Then Not When)

King's Daughters & Sons - "Arc of the Absentees" (from If Then Not When)