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i-am-the-market · 4 years

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King And Queen Of The Losers American Squalor Review

Hello! I usually don’t do this BUT I wanted to do a kind of review for the new King and Queen album because I fucking love this band and I’ve already listened to the album over 10 times since I came out this morning. If you DO NOT want to see spoilers if you haven’t listen to the album, go listen to it and then read this really crappy review. (Honestly Nate’s review is probably better but I wanted to review it too) THIS IS COMPLETELY OBJECTIVE AND IN NO WAY AM I SAYING THAT MY OPINION IS THE ONLY ONE THAT MATTERS OK? Black Hole: This is the first song on the album and since Scooter is the main one singing, we can assume that he’s the one that wrote this (they mentioned before that they sing whichever song they wrote). Right away you can hear the synth sounds in the background and during the chorus mostly. Scooter already mentioned he wanted to work more with that before so, it’s nice to hear the first song of the album dive into it. The lyrics have a morbid type of undertone that is honestly pretty standard with their songs but, this feels different since it’s hidden mostly in the chorus with the line “Everything is ok” or some variation of that. This song took me a bit to really get into so, 7/10 for me. Swing State: This is probably the most political-esque song on the album but, even with that it mostly is about the millennial/Gen Z struggle of living in this modern day political hell. This song highlights very real struggles of dealing with the capitalist bullshit that we have to live through by having our congressmen spend money on useless shit and not wanting the patriarchal company that is Apple to take over the modern day bullshit that is America. The lyrics, which were written by Kiwi, have this very anxious and nihilistic (Which is now called apathy) vibe that her songs from Crutch had too. This differs from Crutch though because it has a more anxious and having to deal with grown-up shit vibe instead of a “fuck everything life sucks” vibe that Crutch had (if that makes sense???) A solid 8/10 Hospitality: This song sound the most like a story than any other song. Much like Another Rehab song, Scooter talks about recovering from addiction and finding another wake-up call by landing in the hospital from a bad trip. They lyrics are very solemn and it crashes with the tempo and the key of the song in a tasteful way. This is a nice change of pace from Crutch since it shows a kind of growth that Scooter had from one album to another, with the last verse being hopeful in that he will get better. Because I liked Another Rehab Song, this is a 9/10 Jean Luc Godard: This song very much has Kiwi’s signature “fuck the government” and nihilistic attitude about everything (not to mention she sings this song too). This song mostly talks about finding comfort in similarities and differences but most importantly, realizing that most people in this generation can relate and come together over the need to fuck over capitalism but, not finding enough energy to do so. The lyrics really show justice to the apathy that young adults hold now and how the system has done nothing but fuck them over in the last 20 years with Jeff Bezos existing (”We both want to kill Jeff Bezos”) and how gas prices are insanely high. Although, this song is not one of Kiwi’s most political songs (*Cough* see Swing State *Cough*), it is very much about accepting that even though politics deem this generation as “lazy” and “useless”, it’s ok to find comfort in things that you can relate to with friends and just being straight up lazy. Overall, an 8/10 Electric Boy: When first listening to this song, It reminded me of Nine in the Afternoon by Panic since it like has that weird piano part (not entirely relevant but, I really like that song nonetheless). Since this song was a pre-release, I had more time to listen to it than the other ones so, I may sound a little better when talking about it. This song is mostly about Scooter finding that he is very much a source of comfort for other people even though that in the back of his mind, he is very nervous and insecure about living and trying to make it through this fucked up world. I believe this song is him saying how at most times, he has to step up to the plate for making other people happy but, neglecting his own feelings at times. You can tell by the lyricism in this song that he is growing as a musician and a writer. Especially if you compare this to his (arguably) best written song, Detox Days, from Crutch. Also, the fact that he tastefully uses the synth and auto-tune in this song makes it even better musically. This is a solid 10/10 for me. Lackadaisical: This song is very much the millennial/gen Z mood of the century with the work lackadaisical meaning “lacking enthusiasm”. Again, Scooter mostly talks about feeling a sort of way about life and living. Very much the apathy we are all extremely used to in KAQOTL fashion. The lyrics are a bit solemn but, as the rest of the album, hidden behind a curtain of major keys and high tempos. Not one of Scooter’s best lyrically written songs but, it’s still good. A solid 7/10. Up On Yr Feet: This song sounds more like Kiwi’s “Fuck you” letter to her job. She is very tired of having to put on a brave smile for everyone else and most likely is warning everyone else to run away from the fucked up-ness that is working a regular 9-5 job. The lyrics are a great warning for anyone else just settling to work a 9-5 job. They are very real and raw since Kiwi herself works a job like that but of course since she is in KAQOTL, she is looking towards just quitting her job and becoming someone who she WANTS to be instead of someone she HAS TO be. Great song. 8/10 Burning Building: Again, you can hear another band’s influence in this song (since in the beginning it really reminds you of Good Riddance by Green Day). Plus, the fact that the “Burning Building” talked about in this song is supposed to reference how Kiwi felt trapped in a mind-fuck where everything around her feels like its all crumbling around her. The building representing Kiwi’s mind while the fire represents her state of mind and how she feels that her mental health is collapsing from this metaphorical fire. The fire could represent many different things but, overall it’s a story of her wanting to stop that fire and save herself even though she feels like she is unable to. The lyrics are well-written by making this building come to life and manifest in a way where we, as the audience, can easily see what’s happening and how anxious and upset Kiwi is over all of this. This is easily her best written song by making her mental health come to life in this fire that seems to have a mind of its own. “I fought wild fires in prison but I didn’t qualify to be a firefighter when I got out” is easily my favorite line of lyrics in this whole album since it shows how even though she may have beat this “fire” before, that doesn’t mean that she is able to do it every time. Favorite song of the album. 10/10. I need the chord sheet right away. Stargazer: A H H H THIS IS THE ONE THAT SCOOTER GOT THE ORCHESTRA ON!!!! Honestly this song sounds fucking awesome with the orchestra and because of that, it gives this song a nice whimsical vibe since this song is about stargazing and is another love song between both Kiwi and Scooter. This mostly talks about the feeling of dreaming about being with your significant over and being love struck over anything and everything they do. This is a nice change of pace from the rest of the album and Crutch since it feels more complete and finalized as opposed to Detox Days (which I still love). The lyrics are amazing and beautiful since this song is another love song between them and in KAQOTL fashion, there are nihilistic undertones but, it still is very much a nice song between those two and I love how the orchestra in the background accompanies the guitar. 10/10. I’m a sucker for love songs. Deep Dream: This song was one of the pre-releases and I gotta say it’s a bop. This song is mostly Scooter’s manifesto about being in a dream-like state of going through the motions of living in this capitalist society. Having to go through the motions of a job for material possessions and being deemed “greedy” by the rich who forced him into taking part in this vicious cycle. The lyrics are very monotonous and this feels like an amazing artistic choice to really embody the hell that are capitalist jobs. These lyrics are amazing and do the song justice. 9/10 Apologies to the Hollow Men: Finally, we finish at this gem of a song sung (and presumably written) by Kiwi. This was one of the pre-releases and the first moment I listened to it I fell in love. I feel like this song is a sort of love song to the younger fans of KAQOTL who are caught up in societal standards that are detrimental to anyone’s mental health. Although Kiwi is saying that we don’t have to live up to the world’s standards of who we should be, she’s most importantly saying this to herself and I commend that. The lyrics of this song are amazing and I love how most of them start with “You don’t owe it to...” and I think that’s insanely important. You never owed anyone anything and you never will and I love that this is the message that ends this clusterfuck of an album. Also, always be as honest as you can with your doctor because it is helpful!!!! “This is how the world ends, with both a bang and a whimper”. Amazing song. 10/10 Overall Review of Album: I feel this is an amazing second album. KAQOTL took all of the feedback they got from the first album and used it to better themselves when creating this album. The overall tone of this is just a big middle-finger to capitalism and I fucking love that. Although this album tends to kind of repeat certain aspects, they did it in a way where it’s not super annoying so, every song feels like an entirely new experience and I love that. I definitely recommend listening to this album in it’s entirety cause it’s a roller coaster of a ride from start to finish. Most of the songs you’ll have to listen to more than once to really understand how great they are. Sure, this album has a few kinks to work out and the band is still so new that they don’t necessarily have a strong footing in the music industry but, this is a strong second album and let’s hope it doesn’t take another 2 years for another album. Overall score: 8.7/10

@kingandqueenofthelosers (Idk if they’ll see this but I hope they do)

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