Just as Bowie said that he'd found his Jeff Beck with Mick Ronson, I've finally found my Rush replacement with Tucson, Arizona's Little King. Little King are no newcomers, this is their 8th album in a career approaching three decades, but they are new to me.
The trio (another essential) are doppelgängers for 90s and beyond Rush, definitely instrumentally, arrangement wise and many times vocally. The song structure are very similar as are the changes in direction. They also seem to suffer the same genre calls as non followers of the Canadians beseeched on them.
You will find them reviewed on Metal and Prog sites, when in reality they are neither of those. They certainly Rock and the arrangements are complex, but at times there are Pop Rock sentiments. Ryan Rosoff is the leader as vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, but the trio are locked in.
David Hamilton plays Bass (and cello on the magnificent Sweet Jessie James) and Tony Bojorquez, Drums. This isn't a long album at 25 minutes for the 7 songs, so there is no excess weight, but the songs do contain such a lot within them.
The biggest I Can't Believe It's Not Rush is the opener Catch And Release, but the signs are everywhere. But these are no copycats. There is the trio's indelible stamp across the album. Who's Illegal is more slowed down, a little AOR maybe with a driving rhythm track and lyrical sentiments that most sensible listeners can agree with.
The Living Lens is a great closer, a sort of round up of everything they do, but the stand out is Sweet Jessie James, a splendid arrangement, the cello is magnificent, more restrained vocally and instrumentally. But overall, Lente Vivienne is an awesome listen.
You can listen to and buy the album here.
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