the Queen Killing Kings
Wind-Up
An album that opens with, “We came to wake to the dead!” can’t be all bad. But after that initial growl, Tidal Eyes isn’t particularly dark. In fact, it’s a limp pop vision of ’60s rockers like the Doors, filtered through a modern sensibility, and that makes sense because this debut from the Connecticut foursome is all about the current trends. It’s got enough ’80s throwback to keep the hipsters happy and enough ’70s style to be accepted by the hard rockers. All good on paper, but in practice, “Warden” has the hair-sprayed smell of a Bon Jovi track all over it, and “Strangers in Love” is a lost prog-rock b-side. The Queen Killing Kings have a lot of time to perfect its sound, and the band will need it.