The Key Of Green – Literal Fires
The Key Of Green – Literal Fires – EP Review
Pay close attention kiddos…in just a little over three years’ time, if you put your nose to the grindstone and do the work, you too might go from making Metaphorical Fires to Literal Fires one day. #LifeGoals
I’d be the first to admit that it took me a minute or two to tune into what these two dudes were up to originally – The Key Of Green doesn’t have a sound that you stumble across every day in the ol’ music scene, you know what I mean? They probably make things harder than they need to be in the sense that they challenge themselves to do things differently…that kind of thing. I’ve reviewed them several times at this point, and even been fortunate enough to interview them as well at one point – and I still only have a vague idea of how the sausage REALLY gets made, you follow me? For a duo, they’re practically ridiculously innovative, and chances are, they’re outworking a great many of you out there that make music. Not necessarily in output quantity-wise…they’re fuckin’ RELIABLE in the sense that you can pretty much count on them to put out a record a year, so if you’re one of those people that cranks out a tune every three days to your YouTube channel like you’re freakin’ Clyde Parks at the height of his fame, then you’ve probably got them beat in that regard – but not when it comes to quality. No sir, no ma’am…when it comes to the effort it would take to get songs like they create finished, in all honesty, there really ain’t that many that could hold a candle to what The Key Of Green have been doing. Think of it this way…I already told you it took ME more than a minute or two to figure them out and what I was listening to – and I listen to music all damn day, every day. It’s fair to say that if something you’re listening to essentially takes EFFORT to listen to, then you can bet your sweet ass it probably took a whole lot MORE effort to create, you dig? And then yeah, obviously there’s the whole contingent of the fact music like what you’ll find on Literal Fires tends to be the precise type that’ll elude the ears and minds of the masses forevermore…but they already know the risks versus rewards in art.
What surprised me the most actually, was that when I put on “The King Of Earth” during my vacation this year, my wife ended up with a cautious-but-positive response to it. Y’all know I’ve dragged her into these reviews I write from time to time throughout the years, and the reason I do that is largely because she’s tapped into most people’s perspective much more so than my tainted ears could be at this point in time. I’ve heard it all…or at least, that’s my mission. She listens to Jack Johnson and is nearly okay to leave it at that…but obviously I would never let that ACTUALLY happen. Not to her, and not to anyone I know if I’m being truthful with ya. I don’t care if it’s Jack, Radiohead, Lang Lang, or Tool – no one on this planet should be satisfied listening to just one thing when there is SO MUCH to listen to out there. Like The Key Of Green! How else would you ever get to bands like The Key Of Green if it weren’t for A-holes like my on this planet doing their level best to spill the beans on music that you should be listening to? Anyhow. The point is, I put on “The King Of Earth” and she didn’t run away screaming. She didn’t ask me to turn it down. She didn’t ask me to turn it off. All of these things are great signs that point to a degree of accessibility I wouldn’t otherwise be able to accurately describe. As in, if you’re scared of any kind of music that would carry a Progressive label to its structure and sound…maybe you don’t need to be this time around. Maybe Literal Fires is a record that’s much more consumable than you might think.
As I started up the record to write my official review after squeezing this EP in throughout the course of my vacation, I realized that the band they probably remind me the most of in many ways is A Truth Called Nothing…not sure if I’ve mentioned that before in my previous reviews or not. I still really dig that band, though I have no clue about their current status or if they’re even still a band or not. It can be…frustrating to put so much effort into your art only to end up with a niche-ass sound that a precious few will ever wrap their heads around, but for those of us that find our way in, we become lifelong fans. At a bare minimum, these tunes are roughly five minutes long – and at maximum, nearly ten – it’s a commitment for most ears out there, and in that respect, I think EPs are the way to go for this band. Again, if it’s challenging to listen to, it was challenging to make – and you’ve gotta have some love for that. Your curiosity as a listener should be never-ending dear readers, dear friends – I truly believe that.
LISTEN to that lyricism to start things off on this record, will ya? Good gravyboat lighthouse y’all – that’s a freakin’ ACHIEVEMENT when it comes right down to it. Charles of The Key Of Green is lightin’ up the microphone with all kinds of verbal swagger on “The King Of Earth” as this record kicks into gear – he’s always been a master of wordplay and knows how to make savage use of a syllable. You’ll hear those skills on display all throughout the many twists & turns of this track, or which there are…one…two…three…hmm…four…shit…I’m gonna run out of fingers – you get it, there are MANY, and more than I am capable of counting. “The King Of Earth” screams of ambitiousness and dedication y’all – the guitars from Evan are nothin’ short of spectacular, and for as challenging as this song would be to play, the reward in listening to it certainly becomes one of those ends-justifies-the-means-type of situations. Listen to the spot around the five minute mark for example of the melody you’ll find in the instrumentation…or how the groove that comes on in right afterwards takes over – the execution by The Key Of Green is stellar, straight-up. Only a minute later down the road, you’ll hear’em break things down brilliantly, settle right into one of the most kickass moments of the entire song in terms of right in the pocket rhythm & groove – and they’ll display that supreme appeal I was tellin’ ya about earlier on that can take someone like my Jack Johnson listenin’ wife and even make her a fan of what she hears. The rumble is there, the guitar tone is there, the vocals are practically awe-inspiring within that first verse…I mean…if you’re looking for music that is noticeably different than anything you’re listening to AND has the potential of grabbing your attention – “The King Of Earth” makes a sound case instantly. “But wait a minute, what the fuck,” you might be asking…and while I wouldn’t ever be able to put my finger on what the actual fuck would be – all I can tell ya is that The Key Of Green are building songs capable of convincing ears to listen, and earning their retention through innovative ingenuity, impeccable musicianship, and pure craftsmanship. They’re straight-up scorchin’ HOT on Literal Fires.
I mean…it’s always going to be argued to be WEIRD, but it’s ART folks, and don’t you forget it. Listen to the way a song like “Brain Pic” starts out and you’ll know what I’m talkin’ about…right from the get go, The Key Of Green starts shifting time & space around ya and creating something unique. Then with a “c’mon” – Charles sends the track into a gentle melodic moment that sounds like a lucid dream, right about where you think it would have gone another notch into more intensity. It’s a great move – and for a five minute track, rest assured, you’ll ride through the spectrum in-full anyhow…there are plenty of highs & lows, intensity & subtlety…you get it, it’s all there in these tracks. Like a rollercoaster continues to corkscrew ya through its cycle of mayhem, The Key Of Green spirals through a wealth of ideas like they’re drawing from an endless well. “Brain Pic” will always make me think of the movie “Waiting” – and while I’m fairly convinced that it’s probably not based on that…I’m not entirely convinced it’s not either with all the references to coffee & whatnot…maybe it is. It’s always hard to say with the way Charles writes and the multi-faceted way his mind scatters through so many thoughts – but what makes The Key Of Green work so astonishingly well as a duo is the fact that Evan seems to have absolutely no problem kicking all the ass on guitar & keeping up with the way they write their material. And like…YO – that spot around the fourth minute? That’s the right kind of heavy right there is what that is – DIG IT. The way this whole song builds up throughout the first minute alone should convince ya to keep listenin’ – and the way that The Key Of Green seems to be able to add in the kitchen sink as you listen…the spoken word samples…the Primus-like bass moments…the fast & the slow in the structure…”Brain Pic” is such a successful collage of sound it SHOULDN’T WORK…yet here we are, and yes indeed, it does, 100%.
“Calm” is another killer cut, but to be fair, these really are ALL killer cuts. You regular readers know I’m always gonna side with the strange to begin with, but I still wanna hear that COMMITMENT to the material in those circumstances…and beyond all the kickassery of the way that these two write, it really comes down to the way they perform. They’re freakin’ warriors when it comes right down to it; playing songs like these are no joke – it’s like going into battle and when that horn sounds, Charles and Evan fuckin’ SUIT UP for it y’all. “Calm” is probably my favorite of the first three if I’m being truthful with ya – I really like “The King Of Earth” and “Brain Pic” too, don’t get me wrong – but the way they’ve rounded out “Calm” with such versatility and style is more than impressive all around. It’s the kind of track you have to really sit back and marvel at…they accomplish about an album’s worth of ideas in this one tune alone, and the entertainment factor, whether they’re playin’ furiously or cleverly paced-out, it all keeps comin’ atcha. I’ve got nothin’ but love for the way Evan plays guitar…dude’s easily one of the most underrated players out there in this music scene we all share. Unless you already know him…and/or unless you’ve ranked him (appropriately highly) already too…in which case, he’d be rated just perfectly, and congrats to YOU for being among the savviest listeners out there on the internet – I salute you. Would I do anything differently? Would I recommend The Key Of Green makes some changes? Not really! How do you go about changing ART for the better when it comes down to perspective anyway? The best piece of advice I could give them would be to post up Charles’ lyrics along with the album when they release it, if only to enhance the experience that much more. I know he’s sung and said a ton of stuff that’s probably flown right by me, and chances are, that means it’s happening to a few of us – “too much, with a side of too much,” you know what I mean? It’s simply a matter of reaching our threshold and stopping just short of complete sensory overload…so any further help they can provide ya with in order to get the full picture is probably well worth their while. LISTEN to those guitars during the third minute of “Calm” though will ya? Evan’s got jaw-dropping ideas and technique combined, and as for our friend Charles on the mic…listen to his most intense moments and you’ll know this motherfucker is indeed, “on one,” as the kids out there would say. These guys play like their lives depend on the results. “Calm” is built & designed to induce & enhance your anxiety…mission accomplished in the greatest of ways.
I am in LOVE with the way that “A Mammoth Called Reliance” starts out in its first thirty seconds…like, I’d easily take a whole song of just that ONE idea alone! Don’t get me wrong – I very, very much dig the way The Key Of Green will shift & move throughout their music with such enthusiasm, passion, and versatility – but goddamn if there ain’t the occasional moment like you’ll hear at the start of this fourth tune where you’ll be like…can’t these fuckin’ guys ever sit still for a minute? They move from idea to idea like Tarzan swings from branch to branch, and if you can’t hang with’em, you’re pretty much bound to be left behind – and quickly. But alright…meat and potatoes and all that aside – “A Mammoth Called Reliance” is quite likely my favorite track of this entire record, and it’s another undeniable achievement for the band overall. At nearly ten minutes in total length, this is a soup that eats like a meal y’all – so grab a fuckin’ fork, because this is CHUNKY in the best of ways, you dig? I hope you’re hungry, because your ears should EAT THIS UP. The Key Of Green have found a truly incredible balance on this record that seems to have found the sweet spot in their evolution…obviously we wanna make sure Charles gets his time on the mic, but it’s probably the instrumentation of this album that’s gonna make the biggest impact on the people out there listening this time around. It’d be impossible not to notice it, you know what I mean? The amount of time dedicated to the musicianship in each of these tracks has led to relentlessly entertaining and engaging material, and it’s certainly going to be appreciated by their peers out there. If you’ve ever spent time writing or recording in your life, you can’t help but listen to material like this and be amazed by the amount of effort it would take to pull off the demands of a song like “A Mammoth Called Reliance” in the way that they do. What IS impossible, would be to say I like this thing or that thing any better than the others – “A Mammoth Called Reliance” is sheer proof of their capabilities as a duo…if there are two musicians out there capable of outworking them when it comes time to push record, please send those names my way because I’d definitely love to listen to that too…but regardless of whether that other band would even exist, you get it, they’d be keeping the rarest & raddest of company. The way they’ve got their instrumentation moving…it’s a whole unified force y’all…exiting the second minute and entering the third is another remarkable highlight. There’s no doubt about how involved it all genuinely IS, but I’d be completely willing to bet most people will find it to be so much more naturally engaging and entertaining than they’d likely assume. Literal Fires plays like a Netflix show you’d wanna sit down and binge-watch from start to finish…it’s that vivid in detail, that gripping from track to track, and the work that went into the writing, recording, and performances you’ll find should leave you freakin’ speechless. Ain’t no doubt that this is their very best album to-date.
With a groove do damn deep that it’d make the Chili Peppers jealous, “Floater” is probably the only track I can think of that seems to have a noticeable influence in that regard. Obviously, it’s The Key Of Green and that’s not ALL you’re gonna find…but if you’ve ever spent your time listening to early RHCP records, right up to say, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, you’ll probably hear a few similarities in this last track in at least a few spots. From extra voices in the mix, to the scattered variety of the way they pivot and shift and noodle their way around, not only is there a whole smorgasbord of stuff to listen to, but once again, you’ll likely be completely surprised by just how relentlessly entertaining this truly is for how much it moves around so rambunctiously. It’s like The Key Of Green went into the recording of Literal Fires trying to answer the question of “what would music for the ADHD crowd REALLY sound like,” and then pushed record. So if you’re one of those folks out there that loves a whole lot of freakin’ sound – or you’re like…you know…super cheap and wanna get the most bang for your buck…in either scenario, The Key Of Green should easily supply what it is you truly need. No joke though y’all…I could put the first minute of this track on and break a set of speakers willingly, every day of the week by CRANKING THIS UP TO MAX VOLUME without hesitation…it’s ADDICTIVE AF. Honestly, I think there’s a real argument to be made on behalf of Literal Fires getting better from start to finish, track by track – but I don’t think I’m gonna be the one to make it because “A Mammoth Called Reliance” is too damn epic. I’m just sayin’ that IF you felt so inclined to make the argument, I’d be willing to support ya is all. As a true audiophile, and believer in The Key Of Green’s ability to satisfy the ADHD, don’t get me wrong – I fucking LOVE what I hear on “Floater” at the end…their ability to shift between powerful moments of accessibility and unapologetic splatters of audible ART is completely off the charts here…but is it a better song than “A Mammoth Called Reliance?” We can arm-wrestle it out later if ya like. I’m going with “Floater” being the right FINALE for the record – how about that? That work for ya? You agree?
Fantastic! Then my job is done here.
The Key Of Green will blow your mind with the creativity and musicianship on this record – listen to it.
Find out more about them at their official Instagram page at: https://www.instagram.com/thekeyofgreen
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