The Last Great Kings submitted their latest single with an overview of their background as a band. It was incredibly relatable, and immediately captured my attention. Originally hailing from Boston MA, the band performed all over the city until something in 2020 grinded it all to a halt. Since then, the members moved all over the country, and production stopped until last year. Now, with a wave of music ready to release, we can check out their first single in over 6 years.

The single cover art is a homage to school years, with words scribbled in biro on lined paper. When I hit play for the first time, I was slightly taken back by the vocals - sounding similar to Bear Naked Ladies, but much like the record, the rawness creates a great energy and pushes the track throughout. Sonically, the track is an acoustic/indie ballad, with instruments rhythmically driving the vocals. The songwriting is delightfully straightforward; telling the stories of high school through the eyes of a fellow student. 

Dynamically, I find Private School Legend a fascinating case study of appropriate variation. The song is quite flat throughout, yet it still doesn’t stagnate. The tempo remains the same, and for the most part, the instruments stay locked in. But section-to-section there’s enough. At points some instruments drop out, and the return to the chorus creates a welcome punch into familiarity. I found the chorus incredibly catchy. After listening to numerous other submissions, I was still singing it without a second listen. 

Overall, I love this submission. There’s plenty that could be tweaked or developed to create a more commercially viable sound (for example, I think instrumentally there could be more variation, changes in guitar riffs or an additional solo/breakdown). But realistically the beauty in indie music is in the raw passion and talent on display. When submitting, they mentioned having five other tracks in the works - so I’ll keep an eye open and hope we hear a lot more from The Last Great Kings. You can keep an eye on them on instagram here.