King Khan and The Shrines - The Supreme Genius of...
A must for rock revivalists
It's about five minutes in to The Supreme Genius of - halfway through the channelled James Brown funk of Took My Lady To Dinner - when one realises that King Khan and his cronies aren't bluffing with the title. Integrating soul, 60s garage and rhythm 'n' blues with enough energy to power Motown for a week, the latest in a series of highlights compilations from this Berlin-based 11-piece leaves a listener exhausted, but clamouring for more. The band shares traits of Detroit garage rockers The Dirtbombs and labelmates Black Lips, but ditch lo-fi tendencies for a spit-shined, big and brassy sound, like Rocket From the Crypt if they leaned more toward soul than rock 'n' roll. The influence of classic artists is also easy to identify: I Wanna Be a Girl taps Paint it Black for a guitar hook whilst Welfare Bread has Khan exerting an Otis Redding-styled earnestness. Although they're certainly paying homage to the sounds of a long-gone era, King Khan and The Shrines inject ingenuity into the formula - often through witty and humourous lyrics - making Supreme Genius a must for rock revivalists. [Jason Morton]