Kat King, "Living Room"
Modern Midwest pop moods with Kat King & company; press photo courtesy of the artists.
As the solstice shifts in turn with erratic climate systems, the appeal to venture out into the surrounding world becomes substantially reconsidered. Betwen the waves of intense cold, and the burn of intense heat, there is nowhere better than in the confines of where we find a respective place to call home. The social scenes of cafes, dives, restaurants, pop ups and so forth provide the town square intersection of societies and communities in the public sphere. The presence of others and loved ones brings a comfort and joy of meaningful connectiveness and often we desire to scale down our surroundings to just a cozy few. In retreating to our own particular pods we find ourselves, our loved ones, and connect in ways that can observe our own unique autonomies and sublime interdepencies.
Presenting the spring and summer solstice spin of “Living Room” from Kat King that evokes a strong emotive ennui with a warm intimate embrace. Featured off the Midwestern artist’s upcoming Domestic Bliss EP, the crew of Derek Melies, John McCain, Kara LePage and Daniel Cole bring a down home and hazy song extolling upon the merits of nesting. King’s reflective song cycles through the haunts of our familiar that finds out that the best parlor in the world is right where we are. The feel of a sleepy Kansas town is told through the song that sails along a lazy river, through pebble floored creeks and to cool lake pool stream waters that ripple like the day waves of windless heat.
"Living Room" serenely strolls through the cafes and bars that ends back in the arms of home and those nearest and dearest. As calendars become cleared in the spirit of a necessitated indolence and reconnection, King and the band walk eschew the pool halls, saloons, salons, and everywhere else except a room's of one's own. These sacred places of solace allow for meditations and realizations, to the shared living quarters where we can discover things beyond us through the shared experiences of others. The song is rich with feeling, but also stands as one of the best songs in favor of early evenings. “Living Room” makes a strong case for 8 o’clock PM bedtimes, trading late nights for afternoons, golden hours spent in states of restorative tranquility amid an otherwise rough and overwhelming world. Kat blends a ting of melancholy that sways with a strong degree of love and affection that steps into a bright section of big time modern Midwest discotheque made for the candid club found in the quaint quarters that you call home.
Kat King provided some behind the scenes notes on the creation of the new song":
"Living Room” formed out of a guitar melody that Derek sent me in a voice recording. It was in the early stages of living with a partner for the first time where you have to figure out how to navigate your independence while cohabitating because you realize the joy in having someone to leave early with or to just stay home with. There was an evening when she was out of town and I was sitting in our living room having a crisis because I was feeling the heaviness of the injustices in the world and I didn’t want to leave the house but I also didn’t want to be home alone. These were feelings I’d navigated before as a single person but it was hitting in such a different way. As someone who had always operated from a state of FOMO, it felt so out of character to choose staying home instead of going to find something to do. It’s silly but in that moment it felt like I wasn’t the same person that I was before living together, so naturally I grabbed my guitar to try and work through that feeling.
Process reflections by Kat King; press photo via Bandcamp.
I knew I wanted to revisit that guitar recording Derek sent me because of its nostalgic sound and I ended up writing the entire song that evening. When I showed the band we restructured the song, jumping right into the chorus instead of the classic verse/chorus/verse/chorus structure it was initially. John also wrote this beautiful melodic bass line that acts as a counter melody throughout which I think gives it such an interesting instrumental story arc. Living Room is the acceptance of enjoying simple home pleasures while recognizing home as a sanctuary from the outside world.
Listen to more from Kat King via Bandcamp.