One of the most exciting breakout bands of the last 12 months, The K’s took to the stage at London’s Roundhouse to incredible warmth and adoration from the boisterous crowd. With their second studio album arriving in June, the group are not resting on their laurels and aiming for the top, playing the biggest venues of their career and taking nothing for granted.
It’s 21:00 in the packed out Roundhouse and there’s a playlist going over the PA system. It’s got many of the usual suspects of well known rock songs of the 21st century. But as one song moved into the next, it struck me that not one of them was a song released in the last 10 years. The majority of the tracks were from the noughties and we seem to be obsessively nostalgic for a bygone era of rock anthems. From Ed Sheeran to Beyonce, The Weeknd to Taylor Swift, for the best part of a decade lone individuals have ruled the charts and the popular music discourse. Yet it feels like bands are having a resurgence. Leading the charge and on a meteoric rise are The K’s.
The North West foursome have been putting out singles and EP’s for nearly eight years but released their long awaited debut album I Wonder If The World Knows was only kept off the number one album spot by Beyoncé and The Libertines. It shows the connection they have and the community they’ve created with their fans. This has been brought about from their energetic live performances over years of extensive touring. Combine that with earnest songwriting and a tightly knit unit of talented musicians and you’ve got a recipe for success.
Aussie rockers Day We Ran kicked the evening off followed by East London band The Bracknall. The latter of which played a number of songs from their newly released second album Falling Out Of View. Highlights include Get Better, Higher You Fly, Sweeter The Fall and their most streamed song, 2021’s I Don’t Understand It showed their fresh take on a familiar britpop sound. It was a bit surreal to hear the crowd chant the band’s name, the same as the Berkshire town that I had travelled an hour and a half from to see them!
Rockshot Magazine spoke to lead guitarist of The K’s Ryan Breslin ahead of their tour who told us about their rapid ascent over the last 12 months and how they were aiming for the big boy leagues. Tonight’s display on this Tuesday evening in North London showed that they haven’t got far to go.
Opening with Gravestone, the second single from their soon to be released sophomore record Pretty On The Internet, the band started with an energy that was matched by the raucous spectators. Next was Icarus an anthem about the dangers of burning out after going out and getting on it. The irony being that early on in this song, singer Jamie – wearing a white short sleeve shirt – was drenched from a flying pint that went over him and his guitar.
The anthemic Chancer followed which fired up already impassioned onlookers and took them to another level. The connection between the band, with each member playing out of their skin and the crowd, the majority of which sang along to every word of every song was so special. It’s rare to be in a room with such vociferous positivity. A joyful catharsis that infectiously spread throughout the room. Dexter Baker on bass matches his bandmates as they make the stage seem small with their animated performance.
Whilst they may be better know for their guitar laden full throttle rock songs, Heart On My Sleeve and Lights Go Down were slower ballads that touched the hearts of those in attendance in North London. The former about the frontman and chief songwriter Jamie Boyle’s tendency to push those closest to him away when feeling insecure or vulnerable. His ability to write and convey the honest human experience and interpretations of everyday British life, alongside catchy hooks and singalong chorus’s is a reason why The K’s are gaining so much traction and appeal to the masses. That was made apparent by the sheer diversity of the audience; young, old, male. female, couples and singles.
Jamie grabbed an acoustic guitar to accompany Hoping Maybe whilst lead guitarist Ryan really stood out – not just because of the red/orange cardie he donned, but being on top form, delivering powerful solo’s and showcasing his talents on the tour debut of 2019 single Aurora, a song about ‘a girl from London town.’ Breslin raises his guitar aloft to get every last decibel out of it.
Drummer Nathan Peers doesn’t stop and drives the band on through their nearly 80 minute set. Their biggest song to date Sarajevo, began with an short rendition of The Pogue’s Dirty Old Town, replacing Old Town with Earlestown, the hometown of Jamie, Ryan and Dexter. Using the metaphor of the origins of the First World War to describe a lover who decides on ending a relationship before things get out of hand. It might sound a little tenuous but the relationship breakdown of your first love is often the end of the world so the comparisons can be understood. People began heading to the exits assuming this would be the last song of the evening however they were to miss the show’s actual finale: Dacton & Wanderella, from the deluxe version of their debut album to bring to a close a triumphant night on one of their biggest headline shows in the middle of their biggest tour to date. The K’s don’t have a ceiling, they’re aiming for the big boy leagues and are coming for it all.
The K’s Pretty On The Internet tour continues and you can catch them on the following dates:
MAY
17th – O2 Academy, Bristol
22nd – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
24th – Neighbourhood Weekender, Victoria Park, Warrington
JUNE
6th – The Piece Hall, Halifax
7th – The Piece Hall, Halifax
14th – Lincoln Castle, Lincoln
Live review of The K’s @ The Roundhouse, London by Chris Lambert on 13h April 2025. Photography by Kalpesh Patel
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