Only, not really

Incredibly loved or fervently hated, there’s something about Seattle’s King Dude that fits into a particular niche. Is it one that hasn’t been filled before? Not necessarily, but TJ Cowgill, the brooding crooner behind the project, definitely knows the right formula for easily digestible rock stew. He tends to mix bits of alternative folk with hard rock, blues and electronic piled on top of its already present metal elements. That metal harshness, though light and subdued oftentimes, is owed to Cowgill’s past life spent in the blackened death metal band Book of Black Earth, on top of being an open Luciferian. These things considered, King Dude’s latest album Music To Make War To doesn’t really abide by the typical aural outpourings of actual war, but there is a type of battle present.

That struggle comes in trying to figure out exactly which element should prevail. Each song prioritizes a different style, though still remaining fairly characteristic of Cowgill’s fixed haunting and despondent nature. “Time To Go To War” opens up the record in a soporific way, its pianos and slow rolling vocals recall more of a time to go to sleep than a time for battle. “Velvet Rope” picks up the pace, reverb and quick riffs turn it into an ’80s goth turned post-punk tune. It’s almost unexpected considering how slowly “Time To Go To War” opens things up and the mildly sensual folky duet with Josephine Olivia (“Good and Bad”) that follows it, but it is a nice little beacon amidst the slowness.

Other tracks also offer some hints of elemental excitement in between all that’s mellow. “Twin Brother of Jesus” has an industrial flair, while “In The Garden” lets horn honks, church bells and synth wave qualities turn it into an ’80s song. With “Let It Burn,” Cowgill tributes Spaghetti Western style with a country/occult rock vibe. And then there’s “God Like Me,” a sad piano ballad that brings to mind the image of a self-loathing whiskey sipper playing the keys to an audience of one at a bar. It’s the sounds of wallowing and longing, though there’s enough in the song communicating the want for so much more.

In all of its Nick Cave-ness, Music To Make War To is really a soundtrack for violent clashes and combat but more, an introspective record about confronting what’s within oneself. Musically, it takes different paths that at times sound disjointed but as a whole, it’s a record for the lost, let down and broken-hearted.