Tuesday's Recommended Release

It must have been great for young rockers growing up in the early days of the genre. Imagine hearing all this great guitar music and knowing that every inch of it was brand spanking new, inventive, something mind altering, it would have been such a phenomenal time to be young. Of course we are not in that time, we are in a time where any new song that is recorded can be likened to something before it and where any time a song is released it is available at the click of a button. It's kind of a "best of times, worst of times scenario" but this is where we are. Luckily we have an act like King Khan & BBQ Show (King Khan's slightly more popular other project King Khan & the Shrines) to remind us of the vibrant early days of rock music, the rebellious call to teenage arms that was punk, and the current state of instantaneous gratification all in one fell swoop.

For a few years now Khan and Mark Sultan (BBQ Show) have been making music together, first as members of the Spaceshits and now in their two piece, soul revival King Khan & BBQ Show. Like the Shrines, Khan and BBQ Show do things the old way, with killer guitar riffs, playful attitudes, and the absolute need to make every lyric and lick sexual. It's a fun trip down memory lane for sure, but it also serves as one of the most compelling and enjoyable listens these days. The tuneful blend of rock, soul, R&B, and punk is a wonderful thing, certainly not new but re-imagined as a dirty free for all with lyrics that are certainly not anywhere near radio friendly.

On Invisible Girl, King Khan & BBQ Show once again assault all sorts of the old school rock ideas, novelty dances, teen love, and straight up insanity, all served with a bit of the crass attitude King Khan often exudes. For a guy that spends half of his on stage time in some stage of undress you shouldn't expect anything less, Khan uses his lyrics as a chance to truly stretch the limits of what is crude and what is downright filthy with songs like "Tastebuds" and "Tryin'". The language is filthy, the ideas are always sexual, but it sounds like so much fun coming from these guys.

Don't get us wrong, we're not offended by any of the words or messages in the music of King Khan & BBQ Show - we curse like sailors on a regular basis - but it keeps the music from reaching any sort of a wider audience in any sort of "acceptable" outlets. Luckily for Khan and Sultan there is the internet where flocks of fans have found the band and will now follow anything and everything they ever do. Like I said, it's a "best of times, worst of times" scenario but with a soundtrack like this we're not really concerned which of those times winds up winning out in the end.
King Khan & BBQ Show - "Invisible Girl"
King Khan & BBQ Show - "Animal Party"