Ears Wide Open: King Shelter

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King Shelter
King Shelter

Orange County quartet King Shelter’s self-described “salad rock” tosses ingredients from a couple eras of guitar-rock into an alt-rock bowl and dresses them with direct, earnest messages. The band — Taylor Hecocks, David Noble, Adam Nienow and John Harzan — debuted last fall with the “Failure” EP, and last week they followed up with a new single, “Preoccupy.” It’s a song, Hecocks says, that takes a dim view of the hedonistic party life that finds a generation “intentionally hurting other individuals for a temporary preoccupation.” Produced by Adam Castilla of the Colourist, the song exemplifies King Shelter’s penchant for good ol’ loud/soft dynamics and lyrics intended to challenge. Interestingly, Hecocks told Substream, where the song premiered: “We’re very normal human beings just trying to make music for other normal human beings. The goal of the band is not necessarily to make the best song in the world, but to make songs that will make people think about something or open their eyes to something new. Culture’s more important than a Top 40 hit, you know?” We say, why not aim for the stars?

||| Stream: “Preoccupy”

||| Watch: The video for the title track from the band’s “Failure” EP

||| Live: King Shelter plays Friday night at the Constellation Room.