Ian K
Ian K is a well-seasoned Canadian indie music artist that has played on some of the biggest stages to be found anywhere, and has had the good fortune to play alongside some of the big names in music in Canada, including members of Our Lady Peace, Platinum Blonde, Von Groove, and even Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel. He has even sang unreleased tracks with Slash and Velvet Revolver.
In February of 2015 his first radio release “Linger” broke the National Radio Airplay Top 50 Rock chart as measured by Digital Radio Tracker. His latest is “Your Hero.” This is a monster track that most rockers can appreciate, with all of the good cliché factors in tow. It comes out of left field and happens to freshen the senses once you grab onto it. It comes in with a heavy guitar riff and some quick time changes, and goes onto just about every ingredient to be found within the orthodox structure of a typical but strong rock track. The vocals are high pitched in just the right places to keep your ear hooked to it, with a chorus of steel to drive it home. But to describe the artist there isn’t a lot more to go off than this and one more previous track of his. It isn’t a lot to go off in getting the word out about Ian K, but you have to start somewhere, even if you’re the road dog he appears to be. If only I could jump ahead a few years and say I told you so, once he has more material to hear and review. But moving right along this has a metal edge to it that won’t quit. It’s obvious he’s centered in that but attempting to break some ground with it by adding that accessible touch. And the market always being fickle has him on his toes here, to say the least. But in all efforts to break ground he has come up with a gem of a song in the process, which he made sound so easy. He sings about not being able to be a hero, rather than what the title might suggest. That’s why it’s always important to hear something before assuming what the title indicates. It’s more about giving it your all and it not being good enough. And as I mentioned the ease of it all, well that really is in disguise over this hard driving track. It’s that magic musicians have to make something easy sound hard and vice versa. But Ian K works it out for the better and comes out as clean as this track sounds. This is an approach I hope he continues with, because it always has a good impression, it’s just that not everyone always notices these things. The guitar solo is also clean and it matches the feel of the vocals just right, which is something of a goal in songwriting. If this does a part in helping bring guitar solos back, so be it. Perhaps everyone should jump on that bandwagon, because these days you can get up to eight minutes on a song without any solo in it to speak of, and that has been evident with new artists since the 90s. The question is, will it ever come back for good, while there is so much to process without solos as it is. And I like how he stands his ground in the lyrics and can’t be expected to change to fit anyone’s ideas. He’s talking about still treating people right, either way. It all comes full circle when you analyze the lyrics. You can’t win people over all the time, but you can try. This is a great little number that will be rotating for a while my playlist, so it comes recommended to add to yours.
But it must be exposed far and wide to accomplish that. Look no further than this review if want to rock to this, but tell a friend or two and tell them to do the same. The more it travels the more it doesn’t defeat the purpose of a single in this day of fast living and less and less time to be entertained. You won’t be sorry, because from the sound of it, Ian K is going places.
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/ian-kurz/mix-1-your-hero-master-1-radio-edit
Marcinn
5/5