"Tidal Eyes" by The Queen Killing Kings

Where to start on this next album? I guess the most important thing to say at the start is that I doubt you've ever heard a set of songs that sounds like this. It's hard to describe what it even sounds like. There are funky piano rhythms and dark lyrics delivered wonderfully, often in an almost upbeat way. There is no guitar on the album, which brings the piano out even more as one of the defining characteristics of the music. There's even some organ mixed in. It is one of my all time, top 5 favorite albums. The album artwork is just ridiculously cool, as well. A mailman is delivering mail (surprise) to a house nestled into the branch of a tree. To be completely honest, it's half the reason I bought the album in the first place. Now to write about the other 11 reasons I love this album.

1. "Dark Hearts" - The song begins with a sort of marching bass and drum beat, with piano jumping in around the chorus with lyrics that sum up the joyful, dark feel of the entire set of songs: "We came to wake the dead with thunder in our breath, with fire in our hands we'll make the world our prisoner." The song concludes with piano and bass taking it away into what we can only assume is a night just dark enough for these "dark hearts" to do their work.

2. "Into the Woods" - This song starts off fairly slowly, almost thoughtfully. The narrator of the song has a dark secret that he only wants to show one person. We are never told outright EXACTLY what he has hidden; all he tells us is that "out in the woods is a place you can bury your dead." Stick with me here, yes it sounds odd, but the lyrics are so well written and so well-delivered by a vocalist with a stand-out voice that you'll find yourself singing along in spite of yourself.

3. "Reinventing Language" -  Piano sets the scene of this song with what I like to describe as a sort of demented waltz melody. It draws you in immediately. Great vocal harmonies interplay with this funky rhythm (aided by organ) to create an extremely catchy song about surrendering to dark urges ("when you dance with the devil...").

4. "Like Lions" - One of my favorite songs on the album. Drums open the song sounding as if they are underwater, with almost mournful piano joining in shortly after. The narrator of the song is singing about a sinking ship and his fear that few will survive. It is indeed a bit morbid, but there is an element of heartbreak and love in this song as well. After the band switches things up to a counter melody (something I always love when a band does it), the narrator sings out to a love he won't see again, ensuring her that "I won't return though I told you I would; just know that I tried hard with all that I could; I wanted you to know, I wanted you to know; Like lions we fought in the face of this storm; Like giants we stood when our ship wouldn't float; I wanted you to know, I wanted you to know." Lone piano ends the song as the ship finally slips underwater.

5. "Ivory" - This song is as conventional a love song as you will find on this album. Ivory, the object of the narrator's love in this song, is a gypsy. He is debating running away with Ivory to New Orleans. The chorus of this song is one of my favorites; the vocals shine through with the aid of the instrumentation that makes this music so catchy and easy to dance around to.

6. "Strangers in Love" - This song opens with organ and the narrator talking of a secret affair. Low-pitched, foreboding piano enters as the narrator tells his lover: "Don't tell a soul the things we've done." From then on, piano and vocals (including some outstanding harmonies) carry the day in a song that makes me think of two lovers heading different directions, stealing quickly back home in the night.

7. "Naked in the Rain" - Another of my favorites. The song features my favorite piano melody on the album. It's an amazing combination of funky and darkness. It's just about impossible not to move along with this music; the piano doesn't let you just sit there. The chorus also features primal vocal echoes and clapping. All in all, a solid song. I suggested that a dance ensemble dance to this (yes, I know, not exactly the feel of a dance concert, but I'm still convinced it would have been cool).

8. "Birds with Iron Wings" - From what I can interpret, this song is a dirty message to virginity. It is essentially stating that young women who don't have sex are birds with iron wings, in that they don't have the opportunity to fly into... well how bout I just give you a couple lines of lyrics and you use your imagination from there. "Birds with iron wings won't try to leave the ground and touch the sky; In chastity, she never gets to fly."

9. "Warden" - One of the darkest songs on this album, and it's by far my favorite. The song is from the perspective of a prison inmate who has gone insane. He killed his wife and kids, but he still pleads for someone to tell them that he's not a criminal. He doesn't know how long he's been in prison and he questions his own sanity. Organ and piano sets the scene of this man's twisted mind. The song ends with the inmate being killed in a gas chamber, though he doesn't know what's happening. "And the guards are taking me to a chamber, a room full of strangers, what could this mean?;  Everyone was looking round, they watched the clock counting down, what could this be?; Suddenly, I start to choke, the room is filling up with smoke, what could this mean." The piano ends, leaving a monotone, atonal sound that I can only assume is the man's vitals flat-lining. It's a dark song, yes, but it's haunting and even beautiful.

10. "The Streets" - This song opens up with a piano melody that is almost jazzy. The narrator is a member of some sort of community that has had to hide and escape people all their lives. The instrumentation in the chorus sounds like they are marching on and on. The song is good, but it is one of my least favorite on the album. Still, when it comes to this CD, that's like saying carrot cake is your least favorite type of cake-- it's still cake.)

11. "This Night" - This song is a great ending to the album. The narrator confesses to someone in the song (I almost think he is confessing to the listener) that he has a "closet full of bones." He talks about a sort of dark passenger that he carries in him always. It is a sort of characterization of the album, in general, saying that the set of songs is a sort of musical dark passenger, a lurking entity hiding in the shadows, but always there.

I honestly can't say enough about The Queen Killing Queens and their album. I can't wait until they come out with the next one, and I hope they get the attention they deserve, because I can't think of any band like them. The pianos are outstanding, the lyrics dark and well-written, and the vocals well-delivered in a way that is at the same time strong and smokey. I promise that if you give this album a chance, you'll never regret it.

Here's a link to their myspace for you to listen to their stuff!

http://www.myspace.com/thequeenkillingkings

Until next time, enjoy :)