RANSOM KONG

Their no-frills approach to song writing enables RANSOM KONG to skillfully craft and deliver catchy, straightforward, super-slick modern pop with melodies where atmospherics are maximized and pulled taut over the listener. The spirit exhibited on much of the material shines brightly through layered dynamics where the mood becomes tenser and effectively underscores the brilliance of their songs’ lyrics. Their hook-laden vocal melodies move along a solid mid-tempo pace cushioned by shimmering acoustic touches and thunderous, low-slung electric guitar chops. Tracks like “Rain” host juxtaposing verses that quietly build intensity with each stanza. From the ominous descending guitar lines that fall gracefully behind the vocal on the heart-felt choruses to the tension of the bridge building up to the explosive, enormous guitar solo that echoes Jimmy Page “Rain” features a kind of barely restrained menace caught in a trap by rock & roll vulnerability.

“By Your Side” balances its feel-good foot-tapping rhythm and melody with a textured approach that’s quite beautiful with a theatrical, ambient quality that incorporates pensive acoustic woe and embattled electric vigor. It’s straightforward stripped-down approach gives way to a lonesome countertenor ringing with plaintive desperation, which brings the emotional rush of the lyricist’s predicament to life. Finally the track gives in to an electronic shockwave of hypnotic, swirling guitar, which fades the listener into silence.

The moods shape-shift on the middle eight bars of many cuts where sepia-toned, heavy-handed guitar riffs carry the bridge built on high vocal notes that rise with anticipation as on tracks like “This Is The End “. With it’s wide, beautiful guitar effects, crystalline bassline and dynamic swathes of vocals, it puts the listener right in the studio and is musically powerful. RANSOM KONG’s clever writing style is proof positive that creative, pop rock has plenty of life and vision left in it.

~ Tom Nellis
In Tune Magazine