King Kong sounds like the smartest, weirdest kid in the basement. Emerging from the same Louisville soil that birthed the somber intensity of Slint, Ethan Buckler took the opposite path, embracing a jittery, funk-inflected indie rock that prioritizes rhythm and irony over gloom. The music is built on skeletal bass lines and staccato guitar stabs that feel both primitive and highly calculated.
What makes them truly distinctive is the vocal delivery. Buckler employs a flat, conversational deadpan that turns every song into a strange short story or a dry joke. It is music that refuses to take itself seriously while being technically sharp, blending the angularity of post-punk with a garage-rock playfulness that feels entirely unforced. It is the sound of the 90s underground at its most unpretentious.
Start with 'Funny Farm' to hear the band at their most cohesive and catchy. It captures the essence of their 'danceable but awkward' aesthetic, offering a perfect entry point into their world of off-kilter grooves and suburban surrealism.
King Kong is an American indie rock music project fronted by musician Ethan Buckler. Buckler left his previous band, Slint, in 1989. Previously in late 1988 he already started a new musical project. King Kong's first release, Movie Star, featured the other three members of Slint, David Pajo, Britt Walford, and Brian McMahan. King Kong would go on to feature an ever-changing lineup of performers including Richard Schuler, drums on Old Man On The Bridge, 1991 9-song CD, John McEntire, David Grubbs, and Peter Townsend. The song "Movie Star" was used in the end credits of the 2014 Slint documentary, Breadcrumb Trail. In 2018, King Kong released three singles: "60s Apartment Building Balcony", "Pawnshopolis", and "Pigeon Man". Each one was accompanied with a music video. On March 8, 2021, Jimmy Fallon included Old Man On The Bridge in his "Do Not Play" segment on The Tonight Show.
Shares indie rock, post-punk, art rock (subgenres); lo fi, analog warmth, minimalist (production style)
Shares indie rock, post-punk, art rock (subgenres); lo fi, minimalist, analog warmth (production style)
Shares indie rock, post-punk, art rock (subgenres); playful, rebellious, wistful (moods)
Shares indie rock, post-punk, art rock (subgenres); basement show, dive bar, urban night (atmosphere)
Shares indie rock, art rock, post-punk (subgenres); deadpan, spoken word, nasal (vocal style)
Shares playful, rebellious, restless (moods); basement show, dive bar, urban night (atmosphere)
Shares indie rock, post-punk, art rock (subgenres); basement show, dive bar, urban night (atmosphere)
Shares basement show, dive bar, urban night (atmosphere); playful, rebellious, restless (moods)
Shares indie rock, post-punk, art rock (subgenres); basement show, dive bar, urban night (atmosphere)
Shares post-punk, indie rock, garage rock (subgenres); lo fi, analog warmth, dry intimate (production style)
Shares deadpan, garage rock, post-punk, playful (signature)
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