KingQueen – “Live It Up”
KingQueen recently signed with Curtain Call Records and have released their single “Live It Up”. Formed by Swedish lead singer INA, KingQueen is a Los Angeles pop-punk rock band that has been seen on multiple platforms such as MTV, LOGO TV, Revry TV, VH1, and performing at the American Music Awards. The multi-nominated collective has opened for Jussie Smollett at Long Beach Pride, and performed at DTLA proud and OC Fair. KingQueen won “Best Band” award at the International Music Video Underground awards in Paris, and also earned a nomination for ‘Rock Song of the Year’ at the 2021 Hollywood In Media Awards.
It’s quite impressive how unassumingly INA and KingQueen are working their way to the upper echelon of the modern rock world. They’re doing it with steady consistency, growth and solid songwriting. “Live It Up” certainly rocks, but even more effective are the dynamics and the dramatic ebb and flow of the funky driving beat that make the track a compelling listen, but an even better dancing partner.
The track sets an immediate tone. It’s a raucous, over-the-top romp that, well, rocks. The guitars jangle with unbridled energy, the basslines pluck and slap, the drums ride a kind of four to the floor insistency, while the synths scintillate with shimmering flows.
Above all, there is INA, with her exuberant adlibs, chants and mellifluous croons. All full of playful sexy swagger, as she exclaims: “We came to live it up all night, and there’s no stopping us, it’s our right.”
The infectious chorus and dramatically building melodies make it memorable even before KingQueen turn in a blistering guitar solo. It’s one of the track’s most excitable moments, besides INA’s vocal performance of course.
From its quieter moments to the loudest, INA’s voice carries this dancefloor anthem from start to finish. To be fair the opening instrumental moments will already make you catch your breath, as it thrives on its ability to surprise and delight while staying faithful to the band’s core aesthetic.
There’s plenty of evidence here that INA and KingQueen are more interested in artistic longevity than being an overnight sensation. That’s why she and her bandmates have ensured this is their most confident release yet, full of persuasive rhythm, while INA’s voice – punchy and prominent in the mix – holds center court. There’s wonderful poetry in the way the guitar, bass and drums lend their majesty to “Live It Up”.
As with the most difficult periods in all our lives, music is a powerful mood-enhancer that can point towards the light at the end of the tunnel. There are songs which are like a potent uplifting and inspiring force that’s with us every day, if we only listen out for them.
The full-bodied sound of “Live It Up” by KingQueen, falls squarely in that category. It is ready to take us on a supersonic highway out of the global social distancing restrictions of the pandemic. What can be better than that at a time like this!
OFFICIAL LINKS: WEBSITE – INSTAGRAM – MUSIC STREAMS
