Kevin Bronson on May 29th, 2012

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With its comfortable mix of Americana-blues and harmony-laden pop-rock, young L.A. quartet King Washington won’t score many points for coloring outside the lines. But “The Gears” – the band’s debut album, out June 5 – never suffers from lack of execution, thanks to sharp guitar work and crystalline vocals. At the front is 24-year-old Tyson Kelly, who the bio tells us is an in-demand John Lennon impersonator and who our eyes and ears confirm is right for the job. Tangentially, Kelly is the son of Songwriters Hall of Famer Tom Kelly, who with Billy Steinberg co-wrote hits for the likes of Cyndi Lauper, Madonna and the Bangles – and who played in the original Fools Gold [because of their association with my fellow Peorian Dan Fogelberg, that record remains in the Buzz Bands LA collection]. “The Gears'” lineage is easy to trace, which makes it either the perfect Father’s Day gift or a fine new flavor who fans who think indie-rock is too indie for its own good.

||| Download: “Fourth of July”

||| Live: King Washington celebrates the release of “Gears” with a show Friday night at Molly Malone’s.

Photo by Flip Cassidy

||| Also: After the jump, check out the video for “Bawl & Change”: