Louis XIV – Illegal Tender

What can I say about Louis XIV that you haven’t heard before?

Pretty much anything.

Chances are if you aren’t from San Diego, then it is unlikely that you’ve even heard the name Louis XIV let alone know anything about them. Hell, I had never heard of them before a week ago when I was doing some work with Warner Music and it came up on the import’s list. But that’s all about to change thanks to Pineapple Recording Group (a sub label of Atlantic Records) who are here to push the band out to the masses. The question is, will the masses accept them?

Illegal Tender is a five song EP meant to build up anticipation and get people wound up for the band’s new full length CD to be released in March or April, and so far it’s succeeded in doing that. They are a band unlike any other you’ve ever heard in your life, blending more genres together – rock, jazz, bluegrass – than you would think to be possible. And they do it all in style too.

The first single,and second song, Finding Out True Love Is Blind brings up images of many of the recent new wave revivalists like The White Stripes, and The Hives. It comes off powerful and confident until they surprise the listener with the beautiful vocal stylings of Ms. Lindsey Troy – making the song that much stronger. Right after that they do a full 180 spin towards a more of a Lou Reed feel with Illegal Tender. The claps and twangy guitar fill the song up with such a strong energy of retro swagger that you can’t help but sing along with the unique vocals. Next comes up yet another crazy spin with Marc, a softer, slower, mellower, piano driven British pop song. Ending the EP is a 5 minute long instrumental called Louis Reprise, and really, in here is everything you would never expect to hear making it all that more enjoyable.

Although this is Louis XIV‘s third release, this is the first one available world-wide and it definitely succeeding in creating some hype for their full length coming out later this year.