Contest: I Was A King

I Was a King will be making their live US debut at the Casbah on Tues. June 9th. The band is touring with The Constantines and Crystal Antlers in support of their self titled debut, which features Sufjan Stevens, Danielson, Ladybug Transistor and Serena Maneesh, and was recently released on The Control Group (El Perro Del Mar, Figurines).

I Was a King is a Paste "Emergent Artist," and My Old Kentucky Blog was one of the first to catch their live show in Oslo at by:Larm, calling the band, "the jangly stepbrothers (and sister) of The Weakerthans. (+50) best in show."

What the press is saying:

"Norwegian power-poppers paint tie-dye melodies over cacophonous guitars. Listen if you like Sloan and Teenage Fanclub, but wish they were a bit rougher around the edges...[a]psych-pop masterpiece." - RollingStone.com 'Hype Monitor'

"[IWAK] confidently weaves together shoe gaze, indie rock, and pop to create a product that can appeal to both the cynical and the cheerful." - NPR

"a pleasingly dense, tuneful, and ambitious batch of psychedelic power pop." - Stereogum "Band To Watch"

"songs with genuine hooks...unlike Apples in Stereo and Teenage Fanclub, with whom [IWAK] share a similar love of fuzzed-out power pop, there is some truly gonzo guitar work here to satisfy the biggest Hendrix fan...fourteen very fine originals here, all of them reminiscent of the days when The Electric Prunes and The Strawberry Alarm Clock were ruling the radio airwaves." - Paste

"...sounds like it was farm-raised on late-1990's indie rock. Frode Stromstad's androgynous vocals gravitate toward the upper register like Sophtware-era Jason Lytle..." - Pitchfork

Check out the free MP3 of Norman Bleik.

If you'd like to see I Was A King when they open for The Constantines at the Casbah on Tuesday night, send us an email (address in sidebar) with subject: I Was A King. Include name and phone number. Must be 21+. Boo Radley, the scientific cat, will choose a winner on Monday.