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The music industry is, of course, a cruel beast but few have felt its spite quite as viciously as King Adora. Two years ago, this Birmingham four-piece were being tipped for pretty big things with their uniquely sleazy brand of glam-punk, grabbing a brace of Top 40 hits en route, having a rather amusing ongoing spat in the music press with proto-Busted pop-punk goons the Dum Dums and even being hailed by some (erroneously) as the "new Manics".
Then, inevitably, it all went a bit Sleeper-shaped. While they were away on hiatus, the Strokes and the White Stripes "happened", their main press support the Melody Maker went out of business and their record label went under. Two years on, the group find themselves back on the road only to find that few really remember them.
It's a bit unfair because the promise that was briefly shown on their debut album, 2001's "Vibrate You", has been worked on and new songs like former single "Kamikaze" and the snarling "Born To Lose" contain a sneering aggression which sounds a lot more focused than in the days of yore. And the fact that the older stuff that they play ("Bionic", "Big Isn't Beautiful", "Suffocate") still has the sort of rush that few of their American counterparts can muster is a testament to the fact that they're better than their critics give them credit for.
Unfortunately, two years on you suspect that King Adora's moment may now have passed - they don't do anything particularly wrong tonight but in all honesty they do sound a bit club-footed next to the full-on glam-metal assault of a Darkness gig or the angst-ridden ice cool of groups like Easyworld. Credit to King Adora for having another go at this but tonight they're that little bit too concerned with getting the lippy and eyeliner just right to truly rule.
Reviewed by Andy James
