The K’s

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In British towns where nothing much besides real life happens, there’s enough peace to form plans and the abundant energy, momentum and initiative to fuel all notions of escape. The K’s, Merseyside’s four-strong, rousing, real-world-documenting indie phenomenon, brought up in a town caught between other places, used every benefit and drawback of out-of-the-way youth to create their adored, masterpiece debut album, I Wonder If The World Knows? and watch as it reached the Top 3 of the UK Official Album Chart at the first time of asking.

It’s a success made of belief. A success catalysed by the achievements of sell-out UK-wide tours, cresting with a 3,700-capacity ‘homecoming’ at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse, being handed the Best Breakthrough Act award at the 2024 Nordoff Robbins Northern Music Awards (aka The Northern Brits) and reaching major festival stages, including their Glastonbury debut in 2024, in addition to main stage appearances at Leeds, Reading and Isle of Wight Festivals, Camp Bestival, Kendal Calling and more. Knowing just those small parts of their story, who would have bet against The K’s turning out to be the band so many lost music lovers, young or old, cut adrift on seas of similarly staid suburban life, have been anxiously waiting for?

Beyond the plaudits and awards, beyond the radio play across BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Radio X and Absolute Radio and beyond the more than 2 million streams per month is the connection to a battalion of fans, many who have been there since their emergence in 2017. Circling a band that’s endlessly grateful for their support, so many more have caught the bug since. Speaking to NME in April 2024, front man and songwriter, Jamie Boyle, revealed that the band sees, in numerous exchanges between fans and kind words they receive directly, repeated confirmations that The K’s music has provided salvation in times of trouble. “That is worth more than any Number One ever could be,” he said. “We’re literally having a massive effect on people’s lives.”

Bands can do that. The K’s, made up of Boyle (vocals/guitar) Ryan Breslin (guitar/keyboards), Dexter Baker (bass) and Nathan Peers (drums), forming in Earlestown in 2017, have become one of those bands, yet the romance in their story doesn’t include any lines dedicated to overnight success. Quite the opposite. Giving a black eye to any critics of guitar-based indie as unintelligent or unambitious, The K’s debut single in 2017, Sarajevo, delved into the history books to find an unlikely formula of upfront, festival-ready songwriting and 20^th Century European political upheaval. From the start, The K’s had gone beyond the ordinary.

Despite growing rapidly through regional venues (hitting the 1,000-capacity Manchester Academy 2 in 2019 after a handful of indie releases, including with Alan McGee’s Creation23 label), the band has released just their one, first and only album. What happened in the seven years from Sarajevo to I Wonder If The World Knows? Patience is what happened. “I’m really glad we’ve taken our time, and not rushed into anything,” said Breslin when questioned by Celeb Mix on the album campaign trail earlier this year. “I remember back in 2020 we were all feeling a bit frustrated because we felt like COVID had really set us back, but in hindsight, I think taking that little bit of a step back from everything was a smart move.”

In a world that’s always thinking one step beyond today, The K’s have taken care to live in the moment and craft songs that mean something to them and so much other people. Marquee singles from their album, No Place Like Home (600,000 Spotify streams) and Heart On My Sleeve (800,000 Spotify streams) rush with ambition yet are grounded in lyrical realism, offering as much open-hearted vulnerability and honesty as cranked-up, celebratory expressions of optimism. Giving it away line by line, such as on No Place Like Home – “Oh, but when it rains, then it pours / and I’m not moaning / I just want my serotonin levels / back to what they were before” – Boyle and the band have gained their listeners’ admiration, trust and loyalty by virtue of them holding up a mirror to the realities of their shared lives. It’s their authenticity that has counted the most.

In the same conversation with NME, Boyle opened up on the personal nature of the songs on I Wonder If The World Knows? confiding in the journalist, saying: “I feel like people can tell when someone isn’t being authentic. I want those songs to give people hope as well. It’s still a sensitive thing to talk about but a lot of the songs are about my battles with mental health. I’m living my dream every single day but there are plenty of times where I’ll feel like absolute shit. Maybe if people see that, it’ll make whatever they’re going through seem less scary.”

Disparate influences make up The K’s sound, having quoted Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, The Clash and The Jam most regularly as legends they admire and have, at one time or another, given them the motivation to pick up their instruments and create something new. In supporting Blossoms at their biggest ever outdoor show in summer 2024, stepping onto a stage before a potential 30,000 people, or accompanying Liam Gallagher as his Malta Weekender, The K’s will take up any opportunity undaunted. Knowing they have earned the right to be there, while honoured to be recognised by their peers, their destiny was mapped out by determination, faith and carrying each other over the line when it looked like the end of the road when, in fact, they were looking towards the horizon.

“I remember playing to my dad and two of his mates who weren’t even watching us,” said Breslin, in an interview with the Official Charts website. “Thank God we stuck at it through those times. If you believe in what you’re doing and love it, f**king stick at it!”