The K’s share long-awaited debut album ‘I Wonder If The World Knows?’
The band have become well-known for their cut-throat indie sound.
Photo: Paul Husband
Growing up a stone’s throw away from Earlstown, I have followed local band The K’s since their first single Sarajevo came out over seven years ago (in 2017!) so, if anyone would be excited for their debut album, it would be me. Early last month marked a big moment in the band’s history as their album came out to the world, marked with songs new and old. As expected, the album featured The K’s ability to play with pace and strike an emotional chord for those quieter, more emotional tracks – all delivered by lead singer Jamie Boyle and his astonishing way to present the album. You’d be lying if you didn’t end the album with dry eyes.
Icarus starts us off strong with a beautiful string section opening; they worked with award winning poet Tony Walsh on a beautiful rendition of a personal poem about the band. The track represents the feeling of getting close to success before it’s ripped away from you, these themes are also evident in tracks Throw It All Away and No Place Like Home, which explore ideas of self-doubt and struggles of identity.
For many long-term fans, you’ll notice that there’s plenty of our well-known favourites such as Landmines, Chancer and Hoping Maybe that have made their way into the album. These tracks represent the work of their younger selves and how they’ve matured through life within the album.
The K’s are known for their signature song-writing style that is about social conscience and reiterating familiar issues, such as working class masculinity, through story-telling. This story-telling is definitely clear in Black and Blue. This track came out at the end of February due to the album release being pushed back, and tells us a story about dealing with the all familiar local ‘hard man’ that we all face in our hometowns.
I Wonder If The World Knows? is a triumph: not just for the band, but for both new and old fans alike. Whilst maintaining their signature sound, this album delves into much deeper and maturer themes that the band have been exploring, resulting in cohesive and refined collection of tracks. Much awaits for the band in 2024 and we are most certainly here for it. As they say – Viva La K’s.
I Wonder If The World Knows? is out now via LAB Records.