Kingswood: A wondrous evolution
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Kingswood: A wondrous evolution

After rounding out 2017 with a mammoth national tour, it would appear there’s no stopping for Melbourne-based rockers Kingswood, who are already deep into the writing process for what will be their next studio album. Following the release of 2014’s Microscopic Wars and 2017’s After Hours, Close to Dawn, it’s evident that time has been nothing but kind to the trio, who continue to wondrously evolve.
“We’re fiercely in the writing stage now,” says Kingswood’s Alex Laska. “[The year ahead] will hold more of the same really, but it will be bigger, crazier and more evolved.
“And I guess musically, the sort of door we opened with the last album is super exciting for where we can go now,” he continues, “I feel like now we can do anything and go anywhere.”
The band’s sophomore album and most recent release After Hours, Close to Dawn, saw Kingswood explore an entirely different direction to what they had with past works.
“There are so many things that led to this [change], says Laska, “This music didn’t just happen upon us. I’ve played music since I was about six years old – classically, piano, clarinet and all this different stuff – and then I studied it at university, so all the influences that are in this album aren’t at all new.
“If anything they’re older and more ingrained in me than the stuff than was on Micro [Microscopic] Wars, which is as I started to learn guitar… I started playing basically just before Kingswood kicked off, so because it was new to me then, that’s probably why it’s [Microscopic Wars] such a guitar heavy album.”
Between the release of Microscopic Wars and the production of After Hours, Close to Dawn, Laska contracted a hand injury while playing basketball, which he claims contributed significantly to this shift in direction.
“I busted my finger playing basketball, which meant I couldn’t play guitar,” explains Laska, “But it was really interesting because it meant that writing became a thing of intellect, in the sense that it started off in my mind because I didn’t have the facility to hold an instrument and be like, ‘I’m going to work out this chord progression,’ or whatever.
“I had to use my imagination and just hear everything – which I actually think is the best thing that’s happened. I believe if you have something strong enough in your mind that you can imagine it and it can stand on its own as a melody, as a lyric, or as a harmonic movement, then it’s going to be way better than something your hand knows how to do because you’ve done it a million times.”
Having spent a vast majority of time on the road in recent years, it can safely be said that the Kingswood boys are no strangers to touring, so it makes sense that stopping and adapting to life back at home can come as a challenge.
“I’m the worst [at stopping and adapting to being home again after touring],” laughs Alex, “I have mega withdrawals and for the first two weeks of coming home, I just go out heaps.
“It feels like I need to get back to where I was, which isn’t mentally a good thing – it’s not healthy at all, but you 100 per cent get addicted to it [the rush of touring].”
With an excess of energy stored up over the holiday period, Laska wasn’t passing up the opportunity to celebrate with fellow band members come triple j’s Hottest 100 weekend. And celebrate they did, with Kingswood’s ‘Golden’ coming in at number 68 in the countdown.
“We were hosting our own little Hottest 100 party at a place called Leonard’s House of Love in South Yarra,” he says, “We had like Peking Duk’s manager with us – Ben – and a couple of other artists and we all just hung out and got really hammered.
“That’s our fifth entry into the Hottest 100 over the years, so everyone was like ‘Wow, this is unreal’. The support is just so amazing and it makes you go – not that you really make music for anyone else really, other than yourself initially – but it makes you go, people dug it! It’s a massive reward and it makes us really proud.”
Riled up and ready to go following Hottest 100 celebrations, Kingswood are set to perform at this year’s Great Australian Beer Festival. Accompanied by acts Ross Wilson, Vaudeville Smash, The Go Set and Fat Picnic, be sure to catch their performance and perhaps even help the guys settle the debate on what the ideal beer and food pairing is.
“It is always a contentious topic [favourite beer and food pairing] within the circle,” says Laska, “If we get a bunch of pizzas say and everyone is like, ‘Yeah, let’s crack a beer’, half the camp is like, ‘Beer and pizza is just too heavy together’, whereas the other half are like, ‘It’s the only thing I can think to drink with it’.
“I can understand both points, so I’m in both camps – but honestly, I can’t go past the combo of beer and Thai food.”
When & Where: Great Australian Beer Festival, Geelong – February 17
Written by Helena Metzke