With the release of their debut album ‘I Wonder If The World Knows’ British indie quartet The K’s celebrate another major milestone in their already impressive career.
Made up of 12 exhilarating, and sonically diverse tracks – including the singles ‘No Place Like Home’, ‘Black and Blue’, and ‘Lights Go Down’, the record serves to reflect the trials and tribulations of modern life in the 21st century.
The K’s are James / Jamie Boyle (vocals/guitar), Ryan Breslin (guitar/keyboards), Dexter Baker (bass) and Nathan Peers (drums), four best friends based in Earlestown, who’s expressive style and evocative sound has has travelled far and wide, marking the awesome foursome as an act to look out for for those in the know.
Influenced by the likes of The Clash, The Jam, Squeeze and The Libertines, the groups debut single ‘Sarajevo’ notched up over 6 million streams, and won praise and support from the likes of Radio X, Spotify and Gigslutz.
As well as selling out multiple dates over the UK, including selling every ticket for their Manchester Academy show in under 24 hours, they have also previously opened the main stages at Isle of Wight and Neighbourhood Festivals, as well as gracing the main stages at Leeds, Reading & Kendal Calling, and tore the roof down at last year’s Tramlines, with hundreds unable to get into the big top to see them play. They’ve supported Liam Gallagher, James and Blondie.
The K’s – Lights Go Down (Official Video)
To celebrate the release of the their debut LP, the band have announced a run of intimate, acoustic shows and signings in March. They will then head out on an almost sold-out UK headline tour in April, taking on some of the most sizeable venues of their career including Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse, and London’s Electric Ballroom.
We caught up with lead vocalist Jamie to talk managing ‘release week’ nerves, group dynamics, artistic growth and what fans of the band can expect to see from them next…
Jamie, your DEBUT album ‘I Wonder If The World Knows’ is out TODAY -huge congratulations!
Ah thank you man! I can’t quite believe, or get my head around everything that’s happening to us right now! Me and the lads are all so happy though, and we’re mega excited that these songs are finally out there for everyone to listen to, and (hopefully) enjoy!
How have you been feeling in the weeks leading up to the records release?
I’m not gonna lie, thinking about this moment has kept me awake at night (laughs). And I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way, it’s just… like I said, that there’s a lot going on, and a lot for us to take it. This is such a huge moment for us as a band – I mean, we’re releasing our debut album, how mad is that?! (Laughs) But I’m really lucky, because I have loads of great people I can turn to when I am feeling a bit overwhelmed – our team and my family always do a really good job of reassuring me that things are going to be alright when I’m overthinking everything at 2am in the morning! My overriding feeling though is one of excitement! I don’t feel anxious or particularly nervous, I’m just excited… about the album, and everything that’s up coming; the next few months are going to be insane.
One of the perks of being in a band must be knowing that there are always three other people there, to carry the weight of the responsibilities bestowed upon you, so the pressures not all on you basically…
Oh definitely! Us four have got each others backs no matter what, and we all really believe in this album; we think it’s brilliant! Between us, we have this sort of collective vision for how we’d like the record to be received, and for how it will perform on the charts, and hopefully that will happen! But if it doesn’t, it won’t be through lack of trying on our end.
You’re all in it together! We love that…
(Laughs) we actually are! At the end of the day, everything you see, and everything you hear from The K’s comes from us! Obviously we have an amazing team around us, but we’re not signed to a major label, so we don’t have the same kind of backing that other artists do. We’re cool with that though, we’re happy with where we’re at, and we know what we need to do to be successful…
Work!
Exactly mate! We’re gonna do what we’ve always done, and graft our arses off!
You’ve been together as “The K’s” for over 7 years now! During that time you’ve released over 15 singles, toured extensively, played at some of the countries biggest music festivals, and notched up over 15 million streams! Why did now feel like the right time to put an album out?
Hmm… that’s a really interesting question. I think we’d gotten to a point where we all felt like we needed to take things to the next level. We’d been plodding along, and doing really well for ourselves for a good few years – our Spotify numbers were incredible, our ticket sales were good, we played Reading and Leeds main stage, and then I think we became the first band to ever sell out Manchester Academy without having an album out! So we were good, we were buzzing (laughs). Then our management team came on board and everything changed for us. They sat us down one day and were like: “what are you doing? You keep on putting the odd single out every few months, and then moving onto the next! You need to build on your success.” That set the cogs in our minds turning and we just thought: “let’s do this!”
So it was just a case of timing?
Yeah I think so. And also, looking back, we were nowhere near as good as we thought we were, or as good as we are now, 5 years ago! So on reflection, I’m really glad we’ve taken our time, and not rushed into anything. I remember back in 2020 we were all feeling a bit frustrated because we felt like COVID had really set us back, but in hindsight, I think taking that little bit of a step back from everything was a smart move. Right before we went into lockdown, we had a few offers on the table from different people to make an album, but it wouldn’t have been the right, and I think I speak for us all when I say I’m glad we didn’t sign any of those deals. We’ve really found our sound, and we feel confident in our identity as a band now, so 2024 feels like the perfect time to put this record out.
Talk to us about those early studio sessions, did you each have a vision for the kind of album you wanted to make?
No, there was no real masterplan or massive conversation about what we wanted to do. Our goal was to just make music that was a step up from everything we’ve recorded, and released in the past.
Do you feel like this whole process (of making the album) has made you stronger as a band, and more confident in your capabilities?
Erm… well, confidence has never really been an issue with us lot – if anything I think we’ve maybe got a bit too much of it! (Laughs) So I wouldn’t say we’ve become more confident, but we’ve definitely gotten better at what we do. We talk a lot more now about our creative process, and we all understand and respect what we each bring to the band. So I guess in that respect, yeah we are a lot stronger now.
And how about you personally, how do you think you’ve grown as a musician, and a vocalist?
I don’t want to sound like an elitist idiot here, but I feel like once you reach a certain understanding of music and songwriting, you just naturally become more in-tune with what you’re trying to achieve, both musically and artistically. So I think I’m maybe more productive in the way I work now because I know exactly what I want to do. In terms of singing? I’ve actually really enjoyed experimenting vocally this past year, and I think I’ve become a better singer… I’m like a 1 out of 10 now (laughs).
Jamie on… ‘No Place Like Home’
“‘No Place Like Home’ is a story of the weekly occurrence of anxiety and panic attacks every Sunday. Starting with an initial feeling of confusion as to why your body feels like it’s fighting to survive closely followed by the panic that sets in as you retrace your steps through the night before. The dreaded ‘beer fear’ and financial hardship that makes you promise you’ll never do it again – only to do the exact same the weekend after. The song constantly battles to try and find balance between the temporary tranquillity that comes with being intoxicated and the harsh reality of the longer term effects it has on both physical and mental health.”
Jamie on… ‘Black And Blue’
“‘Black And Blue’ tells a story that is all too familiar for people growing up in working class towns. What feels like an innocent attempt of trying your luck with a girl, quickly spirals into one of the local hard men listing pages and pages of ways he’s going to mutilate you. Despite this, many will still try their luck as a black eye or two feels like a small price to pay.”
Jamie on… ‘Lights Go Down’
“Lights Go Down is my favourite song I’ve ever written. The lyrics allude to the fact that even though we are living our dreams on and off the stage, we will always love returning to the normality of our families and friends in our hometown in between all the madness. Touring and playing live is our favourite thing in the world but there’s no escaping the fact that there is no place like home.”
Now it’s out, how do you feel about the album?
When I listen to it, I feel really proud. There’s a great flow and pace to it, and I like how honest the songs are – it really does reflect what my life has been like for the last few years. Musically, I feel like we’ve made a proper body of work, it’s not just a bunch of demos cobbled together with three or four singles slapped on at the end, it’s a well thought out album, made up of 12 top quality tracks, – I don’t think there are any skips on there!
Early reviews have been good, and the reaction of fans has been largely positive. That must give you a bit of a boost as you kick off release week?
It really does! We’ve been blown away by the reaction to be totally honest with you, and we’re starting to see things we’ve never seen before – like daytime plays on Radio 1! I mean, that is incredible for us! I’m getting texts from friends who are at work saying: “I’m listening to your song on the radio in the office” and I’m like… speechless! It’s so surreal. I know the work it’s taken to get us to this point, so it’s like we have to pinch ourselves when we think about how far we’ve come.
Take us back to 2017, can you remember how it felt putting music out into the world for the very first time?
In the beginning we had no idea what we were doing! I remember we put ‘Sarajevo’ out, with little to no expectations, and it just took off on Spotify! I can’t remember the exact numbers it did, because it’s five or six years ago now, but it performed really well and honestly, that took us all by surprise, because we hadn’t anticipated anything like that happening – I mean, come on, it was our first single!! Within a few weeks of it being released we found ourselves on all of these different playlists, and our streaming numbers went through the roof; it was crazy! We were very, very lucky to have the success we did with that song.
Was it in anyway difficult to deal with such monumental success right from the get-go?
Yes and no. I mean in a way, we were kind of thrown in at the deep end, and we’ve sort of had to learn on the job, but that’s not a bad problem to have is it? (Laughs).
As a collective, what would you say has been your biggest learning curve so far?
Honestly, our whole career is one big learning curve! We are constantly learning new things, and developing a better understanding of how this industry works. Nowadays, being in a band, you have to be across everything, and make sure you’re on top of the business side of things as well as the creative. Then you have to factor in things like social media, marketing, promoting, streaming… there’s a lot of things to consider, and think about. I’ll put my hands up, there are aspects we’re good at, and there’s stuff we’re shit at – I don’t mind admitting that (laughs). But I think at the end of the day, you just have to trust your gut instincts and make sure you’re surrounding yourself with the right people who have you best interests at heart.
You’re always so busy! What do you and the rest of the lads do to relax and unwind?
Do you know what? We actually don’t like it when we have time off (laughs). The four of us absolutely love being together, and we genuinely love what we do, so it’s actually a choice we’ve made (as a band) to work as much as we do! Don’t get me wrong, we always have a bit of a break at Christmas, and we go off to enjoy all the festivities with our families, but once January 2nd hits, we’re ready to go again!
You’re booked and busy for the rest of 2024! You start your tour later this month, then you’re scheduled to play at various festivals throughout the summer… are you ready what’s coming next?
Absolutely! We’re all are ready for what’s coming next… and I hope all of our fans, and everyone reading this is ready too because things are about to get VERY interesting!
The K’s debut album ’I Wonder If The World Knows’ is available on vinyl, cassette, CD and all digital platforms here.