The Coconut Kings. A Swiss rock ‘n’ roll revivalist band. You might think that sums up all you need to know about the music of this band and, for many, it will. The truth, for those might be interested, is that, in these turgid times, revivalism is often better than the original.
Taking no chances, all fifteen songs here walk the line with the determined faith of the believer. The lo-fi take it as it comes sound is also no surprise and won’t offend fans of this kind of music in the least. The songs are just that being declarations of good time intent delivered in the style of a time long gone with the lyrics little more than right angled ramblings. Let’s not forget, however, that success in this genre is all in the presentation and it is here that the Coconut Kings excel with a generous helping of the kind of neo-theatrical posturing that is essential for a band on a journey through the past.
Yet there are also occasional hints of Tom Waits – as in “All Saints Cursed” or “No Calypso Song” - in there as if to demonstrate that the Coconut Kings are still a band of today and, whilst often raucous to the point to parody, all those rough edges do seem to have been added more as a consequence than as a deliberate effect. The Coconut Kings are keeping it real, as it were.
As with so many rock ‘n’ roll revivalist bands out there, it isn’t as much about the band as why they do it that counts. A sponsored stadium tour won’t ever be their future but The Coconut Kings will no doubt keep on doing it because it is what they were designed to do. In this plastic world, that is positively refreshing.