King Nun - Mass

It’s an obvious statement, but debut albums are important. Before that point, a band are able to try a bit of everything. Like those awkward teenage years where identities whole are capable of changing on the smallest whim, an act are allowed to be cookie dough. That first album - that’s the point they get baked.

King Nun have been working in the kitchen for a while now. More than 18 months on from their first Dork cover - they appeared alongside their label mates Pale Waves, if you want a comparative measure - their first full-length is finally here. In that time, they’ve played with the recipe - refined the formula. On ‘Mass’, they’re finally done.

A more direct guitar band than so many of their peers, some of those sharper edges have been smoothed off. What remains is a juxtaposition of dark undertones and glorious, technicolour explosions. ‘I Saw Blue’ tugs at heartstrings without ever being remotely cloying or trite, while ‘Low Flying Dandelion’ packs a more than satisfying bounce. ‘Bug’ is a huge slice of classic indie, while ‘Chinese Medicine’ remains a boozy cocktail spiked with razor blades.

At times, it’d be nice to have a bit more of that cutting edge, but when it does push through it’s all the sharper for it. Just out of the oven, everyone’s gonna want a bite of this.

Stephen Ackroyd