The Kings of Outer Space

The Things That Make Us Strange

(Western Star Recording)

"Imagine somehow combining an observatory telescope with a Criswell Ouija board, then hooking the whole thing into a monster amplifier" was this writer's description of the Kings' 2019 Ghost Radio. Those words serve in equally good stead for portraying the disc now before us, though a fitting addition would be to observe UK tailors must straightaway sew up silver aluminized nylon spacesuits/straitjackets with velvet lapels.

(Tracks 1-6 first appeared on 2022's Last Exit to Spaceville, while 7-14 are taking first steps.)

Recommended: "Test Pilot," "Moonbuggy Baby," "Doomsday Surf Club," "Big Ol' Monster," "Outa This World," "Nature or Nurture (live at Western Star)," "Life's Too Short"

Videos: "Moonbuggy Baby"   "Big Ol' Monster"   "Nature or Nurture"

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Slick as a Chicken

Out of the Coop

(Self-issued)

Feet fly and rocker blood pumps satisfiedly when scene vets (Joe Chapman, Tony Thomas, Colin Larke, Steve Cage, and Lee Hodges) clamber beneath strobes and reinvigorate chestnuts. While no laboratory technology can determine sincerity, that vital quality is apparent here in great, big rhythms that shake the joint nearly to collapse. 

(Dedication can be espied in one online clip: lead guitar man Tony performs while wearing medical boot - recalls Virginny Catman.)

Recommended: "Flying Saucers Rock'n'Roll," "Pink and Black," "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down & Cry Over You," "I Done Told You," "Sugar Doll," "That Ain't Nothing But Right," "Jeannie with the Dark Blue Eyes," "Knock Knock Rattle"

Videos: promo   "That Ain't Nothing But Right" (live)   "Knock Knock Rattle" (live)

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