King Charles
Loveblood

The year 2012, which is now drawing to a close, has been a very prolific and positive one for the more genuine and intelligent side of commercial pop, with delightful and not so predictable confirmations, unexpected twists, and explosions of new talents, which I have previously spoken about. Signs of life are increasingly continuous and convincing, a scene that seems more and more lively, but without taking anything away from the excellent releases of P!nk, Scissor Sisters, and Fun, the title of best pop artist of the year, in my opinion, is hands-down won by a newcomer, the London-based Charles Costa, known as King Charles. Pop needs new talents, new ideas, and requires a vigorous push from the underground, injecting sincerity, fun, passion, and genuine love for music into a mainstream that generally seems to refuse to find a bottom to bounce back from. King Charles has all the makings to represent a more human, credible, and sustainable future for pop.

This young man, 27 years old, with some experience before obtaining a well-deserved contract with Island Records, presents himself with a quirky and captivating Prince-like look. Like the musician from Minneapolis, he is a composer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, piano, and cello), but the similarities end here. There's no funk or soul; with this debut work, "Loveblood," King Charles offers an eclectic style in which folk and electronic harmoniously coexist with a colorful, lively, and radiant mood: "Loveblood" is a genuine anthem of joy, a pop-opera, almost a concept album where all songs revolve around love for a girl, with richness in sounds and arrangements and that sumptuous and slightly eccentric touch I so much enjoy. The added value of "Loveblood" is a fresh and spontaneous songwriting, the innate ability to invent catchy and compelling melodies, the overwhelming and contagious joy it manages to convey: listen to believe anthems like the sunny calypso of "Mississippi Isabel" or a grand and very amusing "Lady Percy" where modern pop-R'n'B meets the Pogues, textbook songs of perfect pop composition. A Caribbean touch is perfectly discernible in the playful rock-reggae of "Loveblood", slightly baroque with vocal overdubs in '70s Queen style in "Bam Bam", and in a calmer but equally intense form in a sweet semi-ballad veiled with electronics like "Love Lust", interspersed with bursting guitar interludes, prominently featured in the most rock-oriented piece of the album, "Coco Chitty", a high-class power ballad enriched with a perfect string arrangement. The cello is the protagonist in "Polar Bear", a theatrical and rhythmic gothic-like march with a very impactful rap interlude that stands out prominently on the rest of the album, where more reflective episodes also shine, highlighting King Charles's more folkie side; a sweet and lulling declaration of love like "Ivory Road", which nonetheless does not abandon the liveliness typical of the album, also noted for its beautiful lyrics, and even more "The Brightest Lights", a collaboration with the folk band Mumford & Sons, which sounds like an old classic county-gospel revisited in a modern key, with the same spontaneity of a true folk song, the electronic beats embracing the cello in the calm and reflective atmosphere of "Beating Hearts", and the choral theatricality of the bittersweet "Wilde Love" that gracefully fades into children's choir, sealing in great style a bright recording debut for a genuine and authentic talent beyond the highest expectations.

Not only pop, but all music needs characters, new recruits like him, needs to break free from outdated clichés and stereotypes, and a new name capable of harmoniously blending diverse styles together like King Charles is a godsend; this "LoveBlood" album is fantastic, a breath of fresh air, a joy for the ears of those still believing pop should be art and not merchandise for sale. Considering the overall bleak landscape, to the point that in Italy (!?!?) space and visibility are granted to a white trash, pro-Republican product like Taylor Swift, someone who wouldn't even have a reason to exist in Canada and Mexico, it is more than right and necessary to promote, talk about, give visibility to, share sensations and opinions about artists like King Charles and, why not, reward them with the highest marks; in the firmament of pop, a new star is shining brightly, with all the best omens and prospects for the future.