Indie music label and distributor
Release Date: 14 July 2008
Format: CD Album
Label: Little Genius
Buy and Stream from our Digital Partners:
1: White Light Fever
2: I Am A Missile
3: Capricorn
4: One For My Daddy
5: Cecilia's Back
6: Big Sis Little Sis
7: Countless Little Treasons
8: There's Nothing We Can Do
9: A Very Serious Artist
10: Bathos Pathos
11: Taxi to Tucumcari
"Amazing: I predict this will spread through the country like a virus"
Shaun Keaveney, BBC 6 Music Breakfast Show
"Mighty, mighty refreshing"
John Kennedy, XFM
"A bunch of musical rogues!"
Steve Lamacq, Radio 2 New Music Show
"Ungodly, infectious melodies. The most entertaining band I've ever seen? Damn right!" Lee Puddefoot, Artrocker
"A veritable slice of jazz infested, good time swing"
Mischa Pearlman, Fly Magazine
And if you don't own a pair of dancing shoes, this will inspire you to buy some." Jon Blackstaffe, Blues in Britain Magazine
"A manic mix of rocking blues and jazzy, dirty swing delivered with riffed up panache" Molloy Woodcraft, The Observer
"Just the right amount of dirt under the fingernails attitude and punky/indie bite. This is as cool as f.... Single of the Week " The Organ Magazine
The first release on Little Genius Recordings is an 11 track album by The Kingsize Five: A London based genre straddling outfit with a take on the blues that throws in jazz, swing and punk with a strong melodic sensibility, dark lyricism and massive egos.
Like their egos, the line up on White Light Fever is similarly vast. Boasting a flautist;; saxes of the baritone, tenor, alto and soprano varieties;; trombone, bass trombone;; three trumpeters;; 4 singists;; drums;; bass;; piano;; organ;; bass and guitar – obviously The Kingsize Five is a misnomer
But what's in a name? We like them for lots of other reasons-
They are not spring chickens;; they have not lead insular lives pursuing dreams in rock and roll: They are not skinny white boys playing punk rock electric guitar: As their manifesto says – 'we have lived and we are living': They have known a catalogue of failures. There are 6 failed major record contracts between them. One of them has taken their clothes off for a living. One of them was Mr Energiser inside an inflatable costume and got fired for telling small children to f@@k off. One worked the reception for a massage parlour and also got fired for telling small children to f@@k off. They have played in bands as varied as King Kurt, The Fratelli's, Bad Manners, Boy George, Apollo 440, Blur, The Cinematic Orchestra, Fela Kuti – two of us them were stickers in Smash Hits (RIP). They have been married and divorced, some of them are parents, one of them is a stand up with the best heckle story ever. They have been ice cream men, gaolers and media moguls. There are 12 of them – it's a great story and they've put it in the music. Talking of which:
The music is a celebration of human weaknesses set to music that makes you want to dance - As the band may one day say in a brief flirtation with pretentiousness: The recognition of our failings is a foot on the road to freedom – and that has got to be worth dancing to.