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Reviews

National Diet — The King in Yellow
(Bandcamp no#, 2025, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-10-21

The King in Yellow Cover art

National Diet’s second album, The King in Yellow, presents as a unified work of thoughtful music, with eight tracks working as parts of a whole. The majority of the music is based around the piano, though Jake Rose also covers a variety of other keyboards along with guitar and vibraphone. The other band members are Connor Reilly (drums, percussion, timpani) and James Greene (bass), and guests Thymme Jones of Cheer-Accident and Ben Spees of The Mercury Tree provide additional vocals; Nicole McCabe plays saxophone and Ellie Dick plays cello. The music ranges from simple piano backing with earnest vocals to intense swirling full-band sections, and the free-ranging style reminds me at times of Van der Graaf Generator, though the connection might be tentative. For the most part, National Diet doesn’t sound like any other band, and their brand of complexity doesn’t resemble the typical or classic progressive rock. Certainly the songs go through sections that are more elaborate than typical rock or pop songs, not featuring verses and choruses in the usual fashion, but they also don’t adhere to the sounds of 70s prog bands. And if you’re thinking that songs built up from piano parts are going to resemble something by Elton John or Billy Joel, think again. But you won’t hear Rick Wakeman here either. The King in Yellow is a distinctive release with a sound all its own, and anyone who likes music to rise out of the mainstream should give it a listen.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): National Diet

More info
http://nationaldiet.bandcamp.com/album/the-king-in-yellow

 

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