On the second album to be credited solely to
King's X
singer/bassist
Doug Pinnick
(or as he's listed on the cover, "
Dug
"), 2007's
Strum Sum Up
, you get a collection of heavy yet soulful ditties that -- perhaps rather unsurprisingly -- sound very reminiscent of his full-time band. This can be pinpointed to the heavy/detuned guitar riffs and multi-voiced choruses -- two factors that have proven major ingredients in the
sound for ages by this point. Some rockers launch solo careers to display tunes that don't fit in the frameworks of their full-time gigs, but here it's probably just having too many songs to choose from for the next
release (or songs that were left over from the last one). Longtime
fans will attest that isn't necessarily a bad thing, as evidenced by such tracks as
"Perfect World,"
"Damn It,"
and
"Angel."
Years from now, don't be surprised if fans consider
a lost
record. ~ Greg Prato