Kat King is the sort of artist that is so ingrained in the Kansas City music scene that it’s hard to believe the band is just now putting together their debut album. They’ve played Kansas City Pride, headlined Manor Fest and the Plaza Art Fair, and performed at Boulevardia three times.
The indie pop quintet is composed of Kat King the singer, guitarist and vocalist Derek Melies, bassist John McCain, drummer Daniel Cole and keyboardist and vocalist Kara LePage.
So far, they’ve released three singles for the album, with a fourth (“Merry Go Rounds”) set to come out in September.
“It’s in a Dream” is danceable summer pop. It’s a cool nostalgia, like drinking lemonade on your childhood porch.
“Spanish moss, wide street, sipping on caffeine,” King sings. “Your old apartment, warm weather rain, small talk at the window, used to know his name.”
King describes the upcoming LP as an “outdoor rooftop album.”
“Our last EP was very much a living room feeling,” she says.
This tracks, because Domestic Bliss does, in fact, feature a single titled “Living Room.” The singles from the new album also have a bigger, bolder sound, like the band is harmonizing out in the fresh air.
This more expansive sound is due in part to their new producer, Hembree’s frontman Isaac Flynn.
Because Flynn lives in L.A., it was a challenge to find a weekend that worked for all six of the team, but the payoff was worth it.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever all gotten to work in a studio together with our producer, where we all hash out the songs there together, and we all make decisions,” King said. “That, for me, has been the most fun. It was such a relief after our earlier process where we were trying to figure out how to record it ourselves, and then we were sending all of these stems that we recorded in different houses to our previous producer who lived in Philly. Then he would just send back a mix, and we’d either be like, ‘Yeah, that’s not quite where we were going, or, ‘Oh, that is really cool,’ but it was always a gamble.”
King described Flynn as “a blast to work with,” an “amazing producer,” a “mentor slash cheerleader” and a great friend.
The singles were recorded in a guest house in Lawrence, Kan. The owner outfitted it into a studio with a first floor lounge and a second floor recording studio. The studio has a control room and then a separate room for the instruments and amps.
“There’s also a little basketball goal outside and a little yard and the happiest dog, cutest dog ever,” King gushed. “So that’s also a good space to decompress and go outside if it’s nice.”
Now that the band is able to be together for the recording process, King finds that she gets a more helpful direction on which vocal takes to try.
“In almost all of our past songs that we’ve released, I have recorded vocals in my own room or in Kara’s garage or something,” she said. “This time, it’s really vulnerable to do vocal takes. Everyone will be locked away in the control room, and then I’m outside the door and they’re all coaching me from there.”
“I think it felt like that’s when everyone creatively became so alive. Because typically when we have band practice, we’re meeting after a full day of work, and we’re in a basement. We’re trying to summon creativity, and that can be really hard.”
“Merry Go Rounds” is the yet-to-be-released single produced during these sessions. King and guitarist Melies collaborated, with Melies writing the chord progression and King developing the melody and lyrics.
“How do I say this–” she laughed. “It’s lyrically calling out people who preach something but don’t follow through. So that’s the whole feeling behind the song, which I think is easy to gather. It made me feel this hot, sweaty doom when I was coming up with it, and so that is where the inspiration started from.”
“Hot, sweaty doom” is exactly the sort of ominous phrase that befits a pastor’s daughter like King, but don’t let it fool you–the singles are a lot of fun.
In addition to the upcoming album, Kat King will be performing at Zombie Prom at The Ship in Kansas City, Mo. on Oct. 25.
Photos: Cory Weaver