King Friday - This Is Supposed To Be Fun

King Friday

This Is Supposed To Be Fun
self-released; 2013

4.1 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

King Friday’s previous release Let Him Eat Cake (Songs of Birds) was an album full of timeless songwriting, exceptional ballads and some of the best vocal work I have heard since “Kathy’s Song” by Simon and Garfunkel. King Friday’s most recent release This Is Supposed To Be Fun is possibly even further refined then their previous release. The songs are sparse but command your attention because of the emotional resonance that is conveyed. As with the previous album the thing that stuck out to me was the vocals that have an honesty and comfort in them that is lacking in so much of today’s music. Some songs revolve around gorgeous guitar picking while others revolve around a piano. Either way the songs’ emotional impact is apparent throughout. A lot of bands try to emulate some of the classics like Simon and Garfunkel and The Beatles and fall off the mark. With this album I don’t feel that way. It seems as if these young men are perhaps misplaced in time and are just doing what comes naturally to them. Perhaps the only thing I would want is more. The songs are almost all under two minutes and I wouldn’t have minded a centerpiece song going into the five minute range.

“What Things Become” revolves around a piano melody and lyrics that are inspired and thought out. I liked how things were sounding right out of the gate. The second song “Word Games (Cut and Run)” picks thing up a bit introducing drums into the mix. This is a song that could easily be a sing-along or stuck in your head for the rest of the day after hearing it on the radio. One of my favorites amongst the songs was “On the Same Page” which displayed their guitar picking ability and makes you remember that in this day and age with all these computer programs sometimes all you need to make a great song is a guitar and your voice. That is ultimately why King Friday is making good music, they haven’t forgotten what matters most in a song is the song itself.

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