The Prolific Pierce Kingan Does it Again
By Maddy Cristall
Pierce Kingan is a delicious combination of charmingly esoteric, unapologetically odd and wildly distinctive. The solo artist and frontman for his band- The Pierce Kingans can be described in as many words as the arsenal of material he incessantly releases. The absolute best word (or at least the most accurate) to describe the zany singer-songwriter is prolific. Pierce releases an EP pretty much every season which could be seen as borderline psychotic if they weren’t all so godamn good.
Each album is somehow more interesting than the last, just proving he is an ever-evolving tornado of thoughts and sound. What’s even more impressive is how Pierce is able to create captivating music for next to free with his literal bedroom pop set up. Pierce could be compared to the likes of Bradford Cox (Deerhunter, Atlas Sound) Ariel Pink and John Maus but he is really in a league of his own. The songwriting is simultaneously heartbreakingly sincere yet whimsically witty. Perhaps part of what makes this cornucopia of talent possible is that Pierce writes straight from the source of real-life experiences which are usually miserable but funny. That stated, his latest EP “At Pierce at Yourself” was born out of out perhaps the worst year ever paired appropriately with Pierce’s relapse. He has been quite open about motorcycling down the dusty road of addiction for many years. Pierce felt particularly lonely amidst self-isolating which knocks over the already delicate fence of sobriety. So, he fell off that tricky wagon and splattered the broken pieces of himself into this EP.
Each song is sing-along worthy even though they derive from the pitfalls of Pierce’s, particularly deep soul. The good news is Pierce was able to put himself back together and find well...peace with himself. He has managed to pour his wisdom from this obviously difficult experience into four solid bangers. The EP is achingly intimate and paralyzingly real yet still peppered generously with strange soundscapes that are placed in all the right spots. It’s light, it’s dark- It’s Pierce! In his true prolific fashion, this will be followed shortly with yet another brilliant body of work. In the meantime, “At Pierce with Yourself” is an instant classic that deserves to be celebrated.
Listen to At Pierce with Yourself Here.