The Blind King

The ranks of The Blind King have swelled to eight: Josh Boughey's acoustic guitar and voice are supplemented by harmony vocals, bass, (minimalist) drums, accordion, electric guitar, trumpet, and Andy Santospago (pulling double duty tonight) on the proverbial kitchen sink, which includes 6-string electric, lap steel, mandolin, and theremin. Boughey's songs have stately tempos and simple harmonic structures which leave plenty of space for each member to play in without crowding. No one overplays, so it doesn't turn into a sea of mud, but many of my favorite moments come when melody lines on different instruments almost fuse into new hybrids---anyone for trumpordian? Drummer Ned Armsby is fairly new to the lineup, but his presence transforms the band, defining the pulse more sharply and adding texture without overwhelming the hazy, melancholic mood. (Doug Mayo-Wells)

The Blind King sets up six chairs across the front of the stage. Besides the bass, guitars, and voices, they make use of a cello and a muted trumpet. Both add a nice touch to Josh Boughey's easy-going simple songs. The male/female doubled vocals become the band's signature. Josh knows how to let his melodies breathe. His soft, pretty songs are usually underpinned with sadness. The cello gets traded for a lap steel to add some new sounds and the electric guitarist does a fine job with a lot of echo on "'Til You're Gone." The line "While all the leaves are falling down/ when all the kids come back to town" reminds us that Josh's sad love song is based in Boston. "Punk Rock Dream" expresses the need to say good-bye, or that we're forced to say good-bye, to the dreams of youth. The song could be a theme for Josh, who's played in many active rock bands in his time. (T Max)
- The Noise - Boston

The Blind King is the studio project of Josh Boughey, singer for the currently napping Ultrabreakfast and according to the notes, the album evolved from acoustic snippets found on an old tape. The combination of Boughey and backing vocals by Janine Papp give this nine song album a Vaseline's feel-a bit of innocence, and a sadness at the same time. "Before Then," "New Strings," and "The Ballad of Tom Billings" are standouts, but the best track is "L.A."- a song about fading memories. Production-wise the album is pretty solid, nothing overdone, however, the one downfall is the use of a drum machine throughout. At times, it sounds like several songs were programmed with the same drum parts, which makes it feel cold next to the very warm sounding cellos and haunting backing vocals that make the disc what it is. All in all, I think this is a pretty great record, the melodies stick in your head, and if you're a fan of The Vaselines, recent Beck, or just a fan of mellow acoustic rock, you'll definitely like Aqueduct. (T.Lo)
- The Noise - Boston

from the Compilation "This is Indie Rock - the best bands you've never heard" released by Dutch Elm in October 2004

"Be forewarned: If you listen to 'Indie pop song' from The Blind King you can be sure that this wonderful song won't leave your head for a couple of days. Deep Elm definitely has a sense for picking just the right bands for their
compilations." http://www.voiceofreason.de/reviews_1004.htm#indie%20rock

"...The Blind King are generally slower and more peaceful, and “Indie pop-song” is very emotional and quite frankly brilliant. Opening with a fairly acoustic feel, the vocals sound mature, and the inclusion of a female singer balances the sound out. Without trying to sound too teenage and immature, this song would fit perfectly on the sad and thoughtful moments on TV shows such as Dawson’s Creek. The band may not like that description, but with such a beautiful song and thought provoking sound, it would be a match made." - Tom Beck http://www.mammothpress.com

"The Blind King (you'd think he'd stand aside for the One Eyed Man really), make generic as all bollocks indie pop with electronic drum beats, strummed guitars and slacker vocals. Meh." http://www.collective-zine.co.uk/modules.php?name=Reviews&file=index&rop=showcontent&id=2257

"Boston's The Blind King provide an interesting mix of alt-country, electro and indie rock." http://feastofhateandfear.com/reviews.html

"L' hardcore schizofrenico dei Dino Velvet con la loro “Weekend Warriors' si alterna all indie-pop soffuso dei The Blind King, così come l'emo acustico dei Second Hand Stories si sposa con la magia del pianoforte e con la splendida voce di Joanna Erdos." http://www.kronic.it/rec_get.asp?sId=10720

"More rock than indie-pop, “Indie Pop Song” by The Blind King is nonetheless a standout here, a bit ironic and a tad lo-fi." http://www.adequacy.net/review.php?reviewid=4738

"...via The Blind King's marvellously understated 'Indie Pop Song' - that Yo La Tengo wouldn't turn their noses up at..." http://www.alternativenation.net/mag/article.php?cat=&id=176

"Starting off in a very slinky and sultry way, The Blind Kings' 'Indie Pop Song' incorporates a myriad of styles and different generations of music to make a track that is emotionally hard-hitting while not dating itself. The shuffling beat of the song is pushed forth by the vocals and strummy guitar, while the electronic-esque drumming jazzes things up admirably. The numerous tempo changes shows a talent to The Blind Kind that is hard to surpass. Shades of Conor Oberst and early-era Goo Goo Dolls further influence this track."
- http://www.neufutur.com/Reviews/indierock.html

"Given the abundance of utter, utter shite tiny bands out there, you could be forgiven for resolving never to shovel through skyscrapers of horse manure in search of that proverbial diamond. There are factors that bring the cream to the top, right? And a compilation of unknowns from often-emo stronghold Deep Elm should have any reasonable human diving for cover. Except this mish-mash is rather great. Winter In Alaska are moody alt-rock lamenting with style, while Second Hand Stories' folk-flecked tale telling is only usurped by the effortlessly sweet tones of Joanna Erdos, who's probably listened to a Cat Power record in her time.
Screaming hand-clapping loons Siva and Dino Velvet's At The Drive-In yelping ain't bad either. And full marks to The Blind King, who cut straight to the chase with the cheeky but measured 'Indie Pop Song'. Smart." - Adam Anonymous http://www.new-noise.net/list_213.html

The Blind King's "Indie Pop Song" mocks the awkward position indie rock finds itself in, repeating that this is "JUST an indie pop song". But it sounds very pleasant as a drum machine leads into two guitar lines; one simple and melodic and the other spurting and more distorted. Half-mumbled lead vocals and a female backing singer make a good combination. It may be nothing more than an indie pop song, but it is at once clear that this band means a lot to them, and is the compilation's first gem. It is not unlike the quiet music of Pedro the Lion, and after noticing that they have 6 full members and 2 guests providing vocals and lead guitars, I am left wondering how on earth they make so little noise.
http://www.pennyblackmusic.com/cgi-local/rbbandsearchtitle.pl/SID=1246867/?searchq=94172 - Various