Troy Kingi continues to power through his 10/10/10 project of ten albums in ten different musical styles in ten years as we eight to album #8. This is the one I have actually been waiting for as he has been threatening this style for quite some time and I know it is a genre very close to producer TeMatera Smith’s heart. At long last we have the desert rock album, which was recorded at the legendary ‘Rancho de la Luna’ studio in Joshua Tree California. Troy provides guitar and vocals, as does Ezra Simmons while the rhythm section is drummer Treye Liu and bassist Marika Hodgson (one of the most in-demand session musicians in Aotearoa, she is just amazing). This again reached #1 in the NZ Artist charts, and #5 in the NZ Album Charts, and while I will be the last one to say charts are any indication of musical worth it is interesting to see how many people have continued to follow him on this journey. I must confess it is hard to pick a favourite release of his, but I guess I will always have a soft spot for ‘Shake That Skinny Ass All the Way to Zygertron’ (funk) as I was in the studio for that one, while the gig I was at for ‘Holy Colony Burning Acres’ (reggae) was one of the most inspiring love fests I have ever attended, and seeing him undertake two sets at the Auckland Folk Festival playing electric guitar to promote ‘Black Sea Golden Ladder’ will always stick in my mind due to the way he managed to combine stoner with folk and upset many in the audience.

But I always felt that sooner or later we would get a desert rock or grunge album, and I kept asking TeMatera when it was going to happen, and finally it is here. What makes Troy such an interesting artist is that he has a great sense of melody and combines that with hooks and vocal lines which immediately invite the listener in. Just listen to “Through The Night” and the ludicrous backing harmony vocals which are absolutely perfect in this context, and one understands one is in the presence of a musical genius. During the recording of his second album, he had been in the studio, walked in for some playback, then told TeMatera where he was going to add harmonies in and walked straight in and recording them first time. He is a true artist in that he always has a clear vision of what he wants to achieve and uses a different palette for each one to get the correct end result. He brings in pop sensibilities and makes the music his own, no wonder TVNZ recorded a documentary series of him recording this album as in many ways he is a true musical icon.
If you ever wondered what desert rock would sound like when combined with incredibly melodic and pop-style arrangements then look no further. I consistently award Troy top marks for his albums and feel no need at all to change now. I wonder what he will come up with next?

Rating: 10/10

Links:
https://www.troykingi.com/
https://www.aaarecords.com/