Shadows and fog. Genres and sub genres. In music there is much that hides from the light of fame, fortune and notoriety and none more so than King Dude. A practitioner of something called dark folk, he brings not a smile to his downbeat, lo-fi musings on things murky and mystical.
As you might therefore expect, "Tonight's Special Death" isn't the kind of album that you would find in your local supermarket and, whilst far from depressing, the stripped out, echoing presentation of the songs presents this album as one for the dedicated. Bleak ballad after bleak ballad ("Born In Blood" and "White Hands" stand out here) leads your mind towards dark thoughts and, ultimately, towards the road to possible redemption. Think of the Dad Horse Experience without the humour and you will be getting tuned into King Dude's wavelength.
That said, it took surprisingly little effort to get into this album. You do have to be in the right mood to appreciate it but, should that be your situation, then you will find this an album that pretty represents the antithesis of what today's music business is all about.
Available as a download and on vinyl.