King Falcon returns to the spotlight with a new video in “Ready Set Go” that is as raw as it comes in the modern alternative rock era, but fear not – this crew isn’t turning their back on the future in the name of sticking with the status quo. There aren’t any barriers presented to us in the visual spectacle that comprises the video for “Ready Set Go,” nor should there be; in a song like this one, King Falcon flex so much musical muscle that there’s no room for the typical plasticity that most rock bands rely on in making new music. This is so unique, unfiltered, and unabashedly steeped in the band’s roots that you would be hard-pressed to find another track in their discography quite like it, and if there were any doubters as to whether or not this band was ready for whatever comes next, I feel like they’ll be thoroughly silenced by this most magnetizing release.
Aside from the video’s high production value, the music itself is top-tier and frankly a lot more hook-driven than what I’m used to from King Falcon. There’s a lumbering yet quite punky bassline just oozing out of the background as we ascend the chorus, and just as the band is about to take us plunging right back to where we first started at the beginning of the song, the tones wash us in a saccharine element that cushions whatever tumble we’re soon to take. It’s as methodical a track as I’ve listened to in a long time, but more than that, “Ready Set Go” is accessible – despite its many compositional intricacies.
The energy in the bassline isn’t the only element defining this distorted melody. Right off the bat, I fell in love with the main riff and it shouldn’t take much more than a cursory listen for fans of punk rock old and young alike to see why I did. There’s a classic take-no-prisoners style attitude in the construction of the biggest guitar parts here and were there not as keen an attention to detail as there was in the making of “Ready Set Go,” I don’t know that it would be the K.O. that it is today. It’s a shot of life in a year that’s afforded us almost everything but, and that alone makes it a worthwhile listen right now.
Rock enthusiasts will want to check out what King Falcon is cooking up for us in “Ready Set Go” before the season expires because as it currently stands, theirs is one of the best and more unsophisticated juggernauts to see release on this side of the dial in all of 2023. King Falcon has still got plenty of room to expand upon their sound, but make no mistakes about it – this is a group that has found its center, its signature tonality, and they’re exploiting it for everything that it’s worth in this latest release. I can’t wait to hear more for myself in the future, and after this track gets into steady rotation around the indie circuit, I doubt I’ll be the only one saying as much.
Cleopatra Patel