FSU’s King Complex release follow up EP

How do you follow up a breakout EP filled with blues-fueled, tech centric, early 20's cynicism that propels you into the worlds view and leads to a music video directed by Robin Cowie of The Blair Witch Project ? 

Easy- you go into a cabin on a mountain for ten days with friends and beer and don't come out until you're finished (or ready to reenact The Shining). 

That's exactly how Florida-based band and face mask aficionados King Complex chose to reemerge with the follow up to their self titled album, and it absolutely worked. The EP aptly named Phase // features a sharp turn from blues to futuristic pop sounds, with a heaping dose of synth and lyrical optimism to top it off. 

I interviewed the veteran duo, Cody Doss and Bracher Brown, who were accompanied by their manager and mountain cabin host Sean Bucheck over FaceTime. Like any other standard college-aged males, they were sitting on a couch in a living room somewhere, tv on, while Bracher intently focused on building his fantasy draft in a Florida State jersey. We caught up and I let them know I had streamed the album prior to the interview. What followed was an hour of jokes, snarky commentary, and a lot of desperate yelling over fantasy football in between questions.

You used the dark political climate of the country last time as inspiration for a lot of those songs, what was the key inspiration in this shift?

B: It was still very political, the Bernie movement spawned during this time. But there came a point where we realized we just weren't as angry anymore. 

C: We based our music off of the emotions we felt at the time for the previous album, and the same is true for this one. After such a dark album last time we wanted to sort of rebel against ourselves.

How did it feel to record something so different?

C: It really cleansed my psyche by the end of everything. It felt like any other music we wrote- very natural. We started writing and went with the flow. 

B: Our first track was "Pulling Strings" right after the first record, and then Cody came to me with "IAMU" and it sounded similar, so we went that direction. 

What are the music videos for this album going to be like?

C: The one we have for Pulling Strings is very Sci-Fi, so that's the route. 

Any changes to your stage presence to incorporate the new sound?

C: We switched the outfits a little bit, we're still in suits but went with a chrome undershirt to shine and glitter to the masks. We want a futuristic feel, and we're experimenting with star projectors and projections to expand the environment in the venues. 

You told me last year that this album you wanted to have a childlike feel to it, and that if you were on the moon you'd want it to sound like this. Does it?

C: Wow I don't remember saying that at all. I'll stick with it though, I hope it sounds like going somewhere foreign for people. 

Sean: It's not as good as Disney. 

B: My fantasy draft is going to shit. 

What?

B: It sounds uhhhhhhh, like have you ever seen the movie Funny People? 

No.

B: Adam Sandler, who is not known for his dramatic roles, took this role, which is a misleading title, it is an overlooked film and one of the reasons its so good is because of Judd Apatow was on set at least twice, and he did other films like knocked up and the 40 year old virgin but with-

C: Please don't add this in. 

Anyways, Muse and Dream have that kind of futuristic, foreign feel for me-

Everyone: WOOOOOOOOOO

C: Those are my personal favorites on the album, but they're overlooked. It's cool to hear you like the more low-key tracks. 

B: When I was writing "Utopos", I was trying to decide between a NY jets running back or an injury prone Denvers running back, and thats where my pain comes from.

What? 

B: What?

You said you started recording around November, how long did it take? Any major setbacks? 

B: I just remember waking up and recording all day in the cabin. 

C: It only took us 10 days, we were lucky Sean's parents had a cabin for us to use. It felt like forever. 

The name of the new album seems pretty straightforward, any story behind it? 

C: It actually came out of a compromise, we wrote out "Phase 2" and couldn't agree, then wrote the word "two" and didn't agree, so we went with two forward slashes instead. 

There you have it, compromise is key to launching a successful EP, and for not killing each other in a cabin over the course of ten days. Along with a plethora of shows the group has already played and is set to play, they have also launched a comic book featuring the band members as protagonists in an origin story. Super weird concept for super weird guys, right?

You can find this comic along with a free download of the EP, merch, and tour dates on their website.

Support local music, and especially your fellow extraordinarily talented 'noles.