The proliferation of using Tom Waits as a genre has been both a positive and negative experience for me. While it gives an easy anchor point for those artists who just will not fit into standard definitions, it also gives the impression that all of these Tom Waits-esque artists are trying to be like Waits, rather then themselves. I had initially started comparing
Bocephus King to Tom Waits, but i have since rethought that convention. Waits would probably hang out with King if he had the chance. While there are similarities to their style, it does not seem like King is taking from Waits, rather, they are both influenced by a common
source.
King has a very interesting sound. It is urgent. The things he is saying and the music he is playing is being done so becuase it needs to be. Watching him in concert is what i would imagine the world's most interesting preacher doing on Sundays. His vocal delivery is reminiscent of Bob Dylan's nasal drawl, and a lot of his tracks would have fit well on Dylan's Time Out Of Mind had Daniel Lanois leaned more towards gremlins than ghosts.
One way to judge a band is to judge their fans during a live show, and the freaks certainly come out for King. From the Tommy Chong look-alike doing the world's most embarrassing hippie dance, to that kid at the front who was so full of passion he actually had to drop to his knees whilst throwing up the hammer, King has managed to find fans who actually listen to music.
Bocephus King - Josephina 4.4MB, 128kbps
Bocephus King - Mess Of Love 3.9MB, 128kbps
