((I Was A King)) Band Profile and Upcoming Chicago Concerts - Oh My Rockness

You're really going to like I Was A King if you really liked radio alterna-pop of 1995. Ok, that sounds like a back-handed compliment. Sorry. But this band of five from Norway, featuring harmonious male/female vocal interplay, definitely sounds like something that was played on Q101 (the "alternative" radio station that played such cutting edge bands as Stone Temple Pilots and Collective Soul and, oh, even that Nada Surf "Popular" song!) when I was just a high school kid with a dream (to graduate).

This band sounds like Veruca Salt and Lucious Jackson and Garbage (who all undoubtedly listened to "Siamese Dream" two years before) and all those other crunchy and fuzzy guitar bands that sort of swirled back then. Then again, I don't like any of those bands, but I do like I Was A King, so never you mind about that whole alterna-pop thing.

The band's self-titled debut album features guest appearances from Sufjan Stevens, Danielson and a guy from Serena Maneesh. And those dudes are modern. The album also features that band who sang that "how bizarre, how bizarre" song (Ok, kidding on that last one).
Published April 30, 2009
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