I've been using this period of uncertainty to refine my guitar rig and work on new material. So far, I've finished one new song and am close to finishing a second - I just need to finish those pesky lyrics. I'm pleased with the direction of the new material and look forward to fleshing out the arrangements with the band.

In other news, did you know you can download any (or all) of King Never's albums for "name your price"? It's true. Pay nothing or pay something. Go on over to music.kingnever.com to start downloading.

Oh. I would be remiss not to thank the wonderful Nick Tann for playing King Never on episode 80 of his excellent Is This Thing On? Podcast. Give it a listen. Nick plays some great indie music and is a very entertaining host.

Interestingly, Nick compares our song Sorrow to the Smashing Pumpkins. He is the second podcaster to make this reference, so there must be something to it! Ironically, I've never been a fan of the Pumpkins and have been known to use Billy Corgan as an example of a singer with poor vocal quality. You know what they say about kharma!

Thanks for your continued support and interest in King Never!

Thanks to the Rathole Radio Podcast for playing our song Sorrow on episode 48! Give it a listen and learn why Billy Corgan was mentioned in the same sentence as King Never. Intrigued?

King Never - Possibilities

After days of internal debate, I came to this conclusion about King Never's new album, Possibilities. For me, it's like a Bomb Pop.

Seems to me there are two basic types of Bomb Pop eaters. Of course there's those that are die-hard with red-white-blue colored treats, they love every last bit of the popsickle. Then there's people like me that may only really prefer one of the three flavors. It's not that I won't eat the white or blue parts, I'd just rather have more of the red.

Occasionally, I'll run into similar feelings toward an album. Enter King Never.

As a whole, Possibilities will make a lot of people happy. The rhythms and grooves are smooth, the lyrics are quotable and Matt McCabe's vocals are fluid enough to garner some well-deserved attention. The die-hards (not unlike die-hards for any other band) will quickly become engrossed in the new songs, possibly proclaiming them to be King Never's best work to date.

As a King Never newbie, I can't attest to the difference between Possibilities and any of King Never's prior work dating back about 15 years. I can, however, tell you that the guitar work on Possibilities is my cherry end of the Bomb Pop. McCabe does a solid job of drilling out some electric work. For me, it's that electric work, with some semblance of ambient rhythms that keeps me listening.

Much like the frozen treat, I'll continue to listen and enjoy on some level the rest of the album. I just can't find myself engrossed in the rest of Possibilities. It's easy to recognize the talent and understand how and why the songs fit together, but it falls just short of personal intrigue.

What does it all mean? It means that McCabe and King Never have won me over enough to keep listening, even if it is sporadically just to get a guitar fix. Much like the Bomb Pop, I'll continue to open my ears to King Never's work even if the album as a whole isn't necessarily the best flavor for my personal soundtrack.

Recommended if you like The Fixx, Brian Eno, Porcupine Tree.

- Sonic Dissonance

Merry Christmas and thanks for your support of King Never.

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Russ had this to say about Possibilities...

This is one of those albums where you can use the “alternative” label and it actually applies. This is definitely an alternative to the mainstream. The songs are so well crafted, the layers so fluid and smooth, this becomes one of those discs that you wish you had come upon even sooner!

If you are hankering for a little more insight into the how and why of King Never, I think you will find the interview enlightening and entertaining.

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King Never – Possibilities  

2010 KingNever.com   

Some of you might remember an underground Christian alternative band called Able Cain back  in the 90s. Matt McCabe, the guitarist for Able Cain, went on to form King Never. That was just a  bit of background for you.   King Never has released several albums. The most recent release Possibilities is “A concept album featuring ambient, alternative and progressive rock  songs that chronicle Sonja's journey of self‐discovery and spiritual awakening.” Don’t let the fact they decided to put “ambient  first in the list fool you – this album does frequently rock. Songwriting  and recording qualities are both very high from beginning to end. In fact, you don’t have to take  my word for it – you can listen to the entire album on their website before you decide to purchase it.   And you will  decide to buy it (hoping my Jedi mind trick skills are still up to snuff). For influences, McCabe lists everyone from The Police to King Crimson to The Choir. If you like music  in that arena of alternative rock, you will also like this album.  

– Matt Crosslin

Thanks for listening!

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B-HAG Running Podcast played All Is Well That Ends Well on episode #2.

Milk of Minutia played Gravity and interviewed me on episode #13.

Is This Thing On? Podcast played Hotel Desolation on episode #34.

For a limited time, the entire album is available for "pay what you want". Pay nothing or pay something. It's up to you. My hope is that you will download the album and share it with a friend or two. Help spread the word.

Thanks for listening.

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Is This Thing On? played Gravity on episode #30

Marvel Noise played Down Low on episode #117

Michael Angel's Cosmic Grab Bag played Hotel Desolation on episode #163

Did I miss anyone?  I hope not.